Wood Identification

[Seb]

Can anybody confirm what wood this sideboard is made from? I'm thinking Teak judging by a couple of pieces I have in the workshop, but the lacquered finish and odd grain pattern in places due to how it has been joined is making me question it...

Thanks in advance for your reply guys

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You may be in with chance if we can see the picture.

 

[Seb]

Sorry Phil, I've never posted a picture, so just realised after posting it said the attachment was too large. I've resized and reattached, so hopefully you should be able to see it now...

Let me know if not, and I'll try to stop being dim and get it sorted

 

[Seb]

A closer shot:-

 

[Inspector]

That is a pine of some kind. The colour comes from stain and shading the lacquer. Look inside the sides or top and see if it's light coloured. Teak that thickness would be very heavy too.

Pete

 

[Seb]

Hi Pete

Its exactly the same throughout. All the same thickness and no man made board anywhere.

It's very heavy, and took two of us to just about walk it into the house.

 

[Trevanion]

Looks like Radiata Pine to me, cheap as chips!

If it were teak you'd know about it because it would be 2-3 times heavier :lol:

 

[Seb]

Radiata Pine is generally quite knot free in my experience, so I'm not so sure, as it has various. I'll definitely take another look to compare with some online images though.

It weighs a ton (not literally but certainly more than an equivalent pine unit we have...by about 3 times as much I'd say...)

 

[AndyT]

From the general appearance I'd say Parana is a possibility - but you're not giving us the biggest clue - how old is the sideboard and where was it made?

 

[Trevanion]

Radiata Pine is generally quite knot free in my experience, so I'm not so sure, as it has various. I'll definitely take another look to compare with some online images though.

It weighs a ton (not literally but certainly more than an equivalent pine unit we have...by about 3 times as much I'd say...)

I work with a lot of it, it's generally knot-free, but it does have knots and sometimes quite big ones. The grain on it is 100% Radiata pine in my professional opinion.

Radiata Pine, final answer

 

[Turnr77]

Yes pine for me too.

 

[Seb]

From the general appearance I'd say Parana is a possibility - but you're not giving us the biggest clue - how old is the sideboard and where was it made?

Not a clue Andy. I picked it up from a charity shop dead cheap today, so I have no background information.

 

[Seb]

Radiata Pine is generally quite knot free in my experience, so I'm not so sure, as it has various. I'll definitely take another look to compare with some online images though.

It weighs a ton (not literally but certainly more than an equivalent pine unit we have...by about 3 times as much I'd say...)

I work with a lot of it, it's generally knot-free, but it does have knots and sometimes quite big ones. The grain on it is 100% Radiata pine in my professional opinion.

Radiata Pine, final answer

Cheers Trevanion. I really appreciate your advice. Its very worn in places , so that definitely helps me in terms of stripping it back and refinishing.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Another jungle-wood sometimes used as a substitute for teak is Afrormosia. It's about the same colour and density (about 650kg/m3 according to 'World Woods in Colour' by W.A.Lincoln), but not quite as durable.

However, the piece in the photo looks a little light-coloured to be either teak or afrormosia, to me. From the same book, the density of pines seem to vary between about 400 kg/m3 and 550kg/m3, so less than teak or afrormosia, but not dramatically.

I think if I were forced to make a guess, I'd say some sort of pine. The parts are quite chunky, which would give the piece some weight.

 

[Seb]

Yes pine for me too.

Cheers Turnr77

 

[Trevanion]

Its very worn in places , so that definitely helps me in terms of stripping it back and refinishing.

I think some of the wear and definitely some of the marks are intentional by the manufacturer unless someone out of their mind went around putting two lines and a bunch of dots in random places on the piece. You see it on modern mass-manufactured to make it "rustic" or "shabby chic", this helps hide most manufacturing errors plus any wear and tear down the line. If there's already intentional marks on the piece then suddenly you don't notice the tear-out from dull cutters being used or the knocks and marks made whilst it's being transported etc, it's really just clever cost-cutting as they shift more units as they don't need to be perfect so less quality control is needed and less of the units end up in the skip or being sent back from the sellers.

You could refinish it but I would say it isn't really worth it as radiata pine is a pain to work with as well as a pain to stain and finish correctly without serious blotchiness. Wouldn't look too bad painted up in a nice pastel colour though! It would probably add quite a bit of value.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A prize piece from Radiata Furnitureland.

 

[Seb]

Its very worn in places , so that definitely helps me in terms of stripping it back and refinishing.

I think some of the wear and definitely some of the marks are intentional by the manufacturer unless someone out of their mind went around putting two lines and a bunch of dots in random places on the piece. You see it on modern mass-manufactured to make it "rustic" or "shabby chic", this helps hide most manufacturing errors plus any wear and tear down the line. If there's already intentional marks on the piece then suddenly you don't notice the tear-out from dull cutters being used or the knocks and marks made whilst it's being transported etc, it's really just clever cost-cutting as they shift more units as they don't need to be perfect so less quality control is needed and less of the units end up in the skip or being sent back from the sellers.

You could refinish it but I would say it isn't really worth it as radiata pine is a pain to work with as well as a pain to stain and finish correctly without serious blotchiness. Wouldn't look too bad painted up in a nice pastel colour though! It would probably add quite a bit of value.

You hit the nail on the head, as the first thing I noticed was the almost consistent 'gouge' and woodworm like marks. The first thing I said to the Mrs is that they will have been added to give it a rustic feel.

Re the refinishing. I'm planning to do exactly that, i.e. paint it in a flat ish colour on the main frame and just clean up the drawers and top and finish with a fresh coat , possibly in osmo, to leave them almost as they are to contrast the colour.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Seb]

A prize piece from Radiata Furnitureland.

Haha, not a fan then...