another what wood..sorry

[SteveF]

i collected a load of freebies today
a whole flatbed lorry load

was a bit disappointing to be honest...at first
about 30 ash boards 9' x 12" x 1"

these are useless as have tar on one side

about 10 boards 14' x 12" x 3".....redwood \ lightweight \ unknown

about 10 boards 14' x 12" x 3"....I think are oak, so are a result

more oddments

but i was then given some boards that were covering a garage pit

this excited me the most as were black and heavy although only about 4' x 2' x 2"
i cut one open and thought i would clean it up .....failed...i don't have a plane sharp enough to scratch it
it cut off the bandsaw with a shine
it has an orange glow
picture not the best but here goes

any ideas please?


Steve

 

[johnwc812]

Hi
My guess would be GREENHEART.
Very dense, blunts tools.
Large lumps used as beach groynes.
Cheers John

 

[SteveF]

should have said

the original home owner had a a sawmill albeit over 100 years ago, when he built the house

so i guess , and is just a guess that is a uk timber

Steve

 

[Woodmonkey]

Looks like yew with that bit of pale sapwood

 

[SteveF]

Looks like yew with that bit of pale sapwood

so what do i use it for

i cant plane it , i cant chisel it
i will stuff the off cut on the lathe and see if that works
i have someone that wants a pen
does this help ?

Steve

 

[Woodmonkey]

Yew shouldn't be so hard to plane, maybe it's just because the grain looks all over the place

 

[SteveF]

Yew shouldn't be so hard to plane, maybe it's just because the grain looks all over the place

this is rock hard to be honest
cant scratch with my nail
comes polished off saw...if u know what i mean

Steve

 

[Woodmonkey]

Maybe greenheart was right then...

 

[Woodcrafts]

+1 for yew, having seen the turned piece

 

[Spindle]

Hi

Pretty sure it's not yew - it looks more like elm to me, does it have a farm yard type smell when freshly cut?

Elm grain is often very interlocking which can make it difficult to plane or turn, though with sharp tools it's fine.

One of my favourite woods

Regards Mick

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I find wood that has been sat around for many years much harder to id. It can completely alter the colour. That oak I've been posting various turnery from that came down in the 1987 Hurricane is a near coffee brown, lovely. Compared to regular oak that's recently felled they look like completely different species. The grain is of course helpful but the colour really has significant variation depending on age, oxidation, fungal attack etc. It's another of the things I like about wood, the immense variability.

Your piece certainly has a lot of the characteristics of Yew but what it doesn't have is the numerous small knot marks which are characteristic of Yew and coniferous in general. The multi branching nature of the family leaves clues. The orange and cream sapwood are right out of the Yew textbook. A difficult one to nail for sure. (no pun intended)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yew that's sat around after conversion for many, many years eventually goes brown all the way through. I bought a small piece not long ago (very cheaply) and turned some handles that looked exactly like that piece.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

When you consider the application the wood was removed from it is less likely to be yew - as for the colour, I suspect petrol, diesel, coolant, brake fluid etc. could have all played their part.

Regards Mick

 

[Phil Pascoe]

And discoloured the heartwood only?

 

[Spindle]

And discoloured the heartwood only?

Hi

No - however most finishes have more of a darkening effect on dark woods than light woods.

Regards Mick