Another wood ID?

[Paul.J]

Payed another visit to my Tree Surgeon friend yesterday and as usual had a look through the log pile and found the timber in the piccys.
It was the colour and the close grain that got my attention.
He wasn't sure what it was but thought it might be Lilac.
It as been there for a while,hence the splits.
The bark is completely missing from all pieces,and as left a grey/silver colour to the outer.There are small spiky/nobbly bits sticking out of it,a bit like Yew,and it is heavy.
I thought someone had posted some piccys of Lilac pieces before,but i can't find any :roll:
So once again,any idea as to what it might be.

End grain


Split log.

 

[dickm]

Difficult to be sure, but the end grain looks to me to be a bit open for lilac. I've had some lovely coloured lilac in the past - pinkish red streaks in it which look great on pens, but unfortunately don't last in the light.

 

[cornucopia]

:sign3: yep not like any lilac i've seen. but i'm not sure what it is either :-k

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi Paul,

You don't give any dimensions but I don't think Lilac grows very big, so if its small (less than 4" say) it could well be but it looks bigger than that in the pictures.

My first thought was cherry from the small pics but when I clicked for the larger view I thought it looked like Robinia which is sometimes called False Acacia. Some poeple mistake it for Teak when you show them the finished article!!

I will watch this thread with interest to see what others think!!

Cheers,

Richard

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks for your help chaps

Richard Findley wrote

You don't give any dimensions but I don't think Lilac grows very big, so if its small (less than 4" say) it could well be but it looks bigger than that in the pictures.

Richard.It is 6" dia and dead straight,as were all the pieces he had,that i could see.
It was very hard to cut on the bandsaw too :roll:

 

[cornucopia]

i had a big log of dry acacia a few years ago and that was rock hard, so hard that i tried to make an end grain vase from it and gave up!! heres a bowl i did from that log, the colouring looks similar

 

[Paul.J]

Yes that does look similar C
Very nice bowl
Anyone got any Lilac turned piccys. :?:

 

[Hans]

Doubt if this helps much. I made a couple of serviette rings in lilac recently.


Hans

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks Hans
Very nice serviette rings.That wood does look lighter.I will have to turn a piece when i get a chance :roll:
Some very nice pieces on the website too.I like those angels,and the nest boxes

 

[Hans]

Paul,

That wood does look lighter.

I am not so sure about that. Because the serviette rings came from a branch less than 2" (50 mm) thick, there is little heartwood. The sapwood is very light indeed.
The structure however is very fine. A dutch woodturner, Jan Hovens has said lilac is nearly as good as boxwood for thread chasing. The threaded handle of his traveling gouge is lilac.

Notice the colour of the heartwood here.

Nice to hear you like the website

Hans

 

[gary foxton]

the cut log looks like walnut. there is a difference between male and female trees .

 

[tulsk]

Not 100% sure but it looks a lot like Robinia to me. If it is it will appear 2-tone (yellow & brown) if you skew slice a piece across the grain.

 

[Paul.J]

Gary Foxton wrote

the cut log looks like walnut

That is possible as he did cut some Walnut branches down a while back which i had ,but that was fresher with the bark and leaves still on.This is older and no bark on :?

 

[robo hippy]

My first thought was sumac, of which there are several species. The bark doesn't look right for the black locust/robinia. Both glow under UV lights.
robo hippy

 

[Paul.J]

Hello Robo hippy and welcome
As soon as i turn a piece i will post a piccy if it helps at all.

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi Guys,

In my experience with Walnut, there is usually a LOT more sapwood than heart but in the picture there is hardly any sapwood at all!!

Richard

 

[cornucopia]

its not walnut, the bark would be more rippled and riven -defo not smooth.

 

[Paul.J]

Here is a piccy of the outside.As i said there is no bark on it what so ever,and as gone a greyish colour.
If it is any of the wood mentioned,is it worth keeping and maybe getting therest of it :?:

 

[cornucopia]

oh theres no bark :-#
i still dont think its walnut though

 

[Bodrighy]

Here is a piccy of the outside.As i said there is no bark on it what so ever,and as gone a greyish colour.
If it is any of the wood mentioned,is it worth keeping and maybe getting therest of it :?:

Why not cut a piece off and turn it. IME wood like this can really surprise you when turned. It sems to have a wide grain and the green look is a bit like some sumach I had. If you do turn it be careful in case it is as Sumach can be nasty stuff.

Where are you going to put it by the way? With all the wood that you have (had) you aren't going to have room for a bash or are you going to blank it all up and sell on Ebay.... :lol:

Pete