Wood ID assistance

[farmerbw]

I've got an Oak tree cookie that I brought back from PA back in January and I'd like to determine what species it it. I can't tell if it's red or white and it may affect how it gets used depending on which it is. It might end up as an outdoor table for the kids to play on if it's white or if it's red it might still end up outside under the deck or on the covered porch.... or maybe inside... not really sure at this point. I had it in my truck the other day when I was at Phil S' and he offered to run it through his wide sander so I took him up on the generous offer. After several passes it became obvious that the thickness was too inconsistent at present to get it flat that way so we stopped while we were ahead. I guess I'm gonna have to go at it with a belt sander and maybe just settle for getting it a little smoother and not "flat". Anyway...... here's a picture of the whole cookie, the bark, and the section that got sanded.

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TIA,
Brian.

 

[LittleJohn_NC]

Looks like white oak to me .......Little John

 

[Jeff]

The bark resembles maple rather than oak IMHO. However, if it is truly an oak there is a simple color test used by the US Forest Service to distinguish between red oak and white oak. It's simply a 10% solution of sodium nitrite in water sprayed on the heartwood. Your local pharmacist can probably hook you up with a few grams of sodium nitrite. The test is accurate on freshly cut wood down to a moisture content of 6%.

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1985/mille85a.pdf

 

[farmerbw]

Jeff, thanks for the link. It's very interesting reading and definitely something worth trying.

Brian.

 

[TOL Woodworks]

Definitely looks like maple to me. It even has the ambrosia beetle staining that is very typical in maple. If it were oak then it would have a distinctly colored heartwood, not to mention medullary rays that aren't present in the photo. And the bark looks like maple

 

[CarvedTones]

Definitely looks like maple to me. It even has the ambrosia beetle staining that is very typical in maple. If it were oak then it would have a distinctly colored heartwood, not to mention medullary rays that aren't present in the photo. And the bark looks like maple

+1

and it doesn't really look much like either oak to me, though looking at a picture of rough end grain does not lend itself to high accuracy.

 

[farmerbw]

David, thanks for pointing out the beetle staining. :icon_thum I had completely forgotten about noticing those after sanding that portion of it as it wasn't noticeable before. I was thinking that wouldn't be present in Oak. I was initially going off what the guy told my MIL the trees were they had cut down, maybe she misunderstood them. :icon_scra

Thanks for all the responses. It's good to know what it is..... now to decide what to do with it.....:eusa_thin

Brian.

 

[Howard Acheson]

It's easy to tell the difference between red oak and white oak. You can blow air right through red oak from one end to the other. Red oak is like a straw in that regard.

I guess no one smokes now but when I was teaching wood working I would demonstrate by blowing cigarette smoke through red oak or put one end into a pail of water and blow through the other. Watch the bubbles.

Because red oak is porous, it's white oak that is used for wine and whiskey barrels.

 

[scsmith42]

Brian, it appears to be maple to me as well.

I have the sodium nitrite solution in stock if you want to borrow some and try it.

Scott

 

[walnutjerry]

+1 for the maple opinion