Time to play..NAME THAT WOOD

[lottathought]

Things have been moving along in the Antiques project that I have been in.
I really like the way that the end table is coming along (Gonna have to do a before-after when it is done)...... and the clock looks great also.

I have hit a little snag however.
I have a bookcase...circa 1850....(somewhere in that time-frame)
I am going to have to replace a shattered board. (Nope..I did not shatter it..) The part that is busted is not only cosmetic, it is a track that the door needs to open and close. Unless I replace the board, I can pretty much gurantee that the glass door will fall out and break.

Well..if I am going to replace it, I am going to have to know what type of wood it is and then try to stain the new piece to match.
I realize that time has finished the wood as much as the original finish has...but I am not trying to duplicate the original finish..I am trying to match what it looks like today.

I have included some pics of the bookcase itself for some help on identifying the wood. Any suggestions on the best way to make a finish on the new board match would be appreciated also.

Of course I would always prefer to repair the board. But since some of it is missing, I am not sure that is possible. Of course, if somebody knows of a way, please, speak up.

BTW..I can send larger pics to anybody who wants a closer look. I am just limited to the size I can post here.

[cskipper]

Here's my guesses as to what wood it is (and, please place no weight on my opinion):

oak cherry
pine pine

[NCPete]

Originally Posted by lottathought

BTW..I can send larger pics to anybody who wants a closer look. I am just limited to the size I can post here.

upload your pics to the gallery, and they can be any size you like, the system will automatically shrink them for inclusion inside the post, then when clicked on they can become larger. gallery pics can be used over and over, other's cannot, and are succeptible to loss

[walnutjerry]

Originally Posted by lottathought

Things have been moving along in the Antiques project that I have been in.
I really like the way that the end table is coming along (Gonna have to do a before-after when it is done)...... and the clock looks great also.

I have hit a little snag however.
I have a bookcase...circa 1850....(somewhere in that time-frame)
I am going to have to replace a shattered board. (Nope..I did not shatter it..) The part that is busted is not only cosmetic, it is a track that the door needs to open and close. Unless I replace the board, I can pretty much gurantee that the glass door will fall out and break.

Well..if I am going to replace it, I am going to have to know what type of wood it is and then try to stain the new piece to match.
I realize that time has finished the wood as much as the original finish has...but I am not trying to duplicate the original finish..I am trying to match what it looks like today.

I have included some pics of the bookcase itself for some help on identifying the wood. Any suggestions on the best way to make a finish on the new board match would be appreciated also.

Of course I would always prefer to repair the board. But since some of it is missing, I am not sure that is possible. Of course, if somebody knows of a way, please, speak up.

BTW..I can send larger pics to anybody who wants a closer look. I am just limited to the size I can post here.

It appears to me as quarter sawn oak with a shellac finish----probably red oak. That is my guess.

Jerry

[Makinsawdust]

Lottathought,
I'm with Jerry on this. The fleck/rays in the third picture is oak and most of the time this means whiteoak. The grain patterns in the busted piece also says oak. See if denatured alcohol will desolve the old finish in a hidden area. If so you can be certain you have a shellac finish.
Rob

[newtonc]

Hard to tell from the photos,but are you replacing the entire piece that is missing some wood in the picture??
Because I would say splicing a repair on would be less destructive than replacing.And it would look better than an entirely new peice.From there you color and blend into the original wood.

[jeff...]

That looks like stained QSRO, it's pretty easy to identify with the open pores in the grain being almost black. I would say the stain was oil based a mixture of vandyke brown and burnt sienna. Good luck refinishing it the stain has most likely penetrated pretty deep into the wood and may be next to impossible to lift without the use of harsh chemicals.

[lottathought]

Thanks guys...
I suspected Oak but I am far from an expert.

BTW....all 4 pictures were of the same bookcase. I started to see some variety in wood choices from picture to picture and realized I had not made that clear.

As for splicing in a piece of wood rather than replacing the entire piece.
Well..as luck would have it, the part that I need to replace is only about 12" long and about an 2 inchs wide. That is where this particular piece of wood ends and meets up with other boards.
I am certainly willing to entertain splicing in some wood but I was thinking that just replacing the entire piece would work better.
If you have other ideas however NewtonNC, I am willing to look at splicing.

As for the darkness and how deep the stain is....I am not planning on stripping the original finish. At this point, I do not see a need...especially as well as the side table is turning out.
(That Mineral Spirits/Bloiled Linseed oil cocktail is working literal magic.)
And my parents are not against the bookcase being dark, so I do not see any real trouble there.
Having an idea as to what stain to try helps TREMENDOUSLY however.
Thanks for that Jeff.
I was really clueless on that one.

[newtonc]

In traditional refurbishing,as much of the original piece is to be retained as possible.In some cases,I can't tell in yours,you can scavange wood from the back/underside/inside and swap that out for the damaged piece as needed.It doesn't look like you have that luxury?
But splicing in a piece would be the traditional and historical approach.I have had strechers completely swiss cheesed from wood worms that didn't need entire replacing.Cutting a 68 degree(or as the piece calls for) angle off the end,and I can't tell from the pictures-but maybe that's 6 inches long in your case.Glue on new or scavanged wood from original carcass,and then shape to fit.That gives a strong glue surface and a flat one,if you are worried of strength you can shoot a few 1/8 dowels in,preferably down in the groove for the glass so it isn't visible,but I don't think that step is needed.
And blending a patch job is easier than an entire piece,but both are possible.Patch jobs on an antique are common and if the piece is rustic it need not be an invisible repair.That speaks the piece's age as much as all other indicators.As much pride is taken in the repairs as is to the original creation of the piece.It shows the piece was cared for and suffered from common failures.It isn't rare to come across an expert level repair and find the signature and date of the crafter who performed it carved in the back.I myself was never that bold and cocky to sign my name,not that I think it's wrong if you do.

And one more thing,if you cut out a wedge and splice a new piece or swap out the entire piece...Save the wood!!And don't wittle it in to something else.Hot glue it to the bottom of the piece or label it well in your shop.Because if you intend to keep that piece and hand it down as well,I can guarantee this won't be the last repair it will need.And this way you have spare "original" wood to work with.And the next repair might be splicing on a peice that already has it's matching original finish ready to go.
Oh,and have fun.

[lottathought]

Ohhhh..I had not even thought about saving the old wood.
Excellent idea.

Thanks for the input. I will try to splice first.
If things go totally wrong, I can always go back and simply replace it.

Thanks again