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Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Bryan Adolphe on September 19, 2022, 08:56:20 AM

Title: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 19, 2022, 08:56:20 AM

First time trying to post a picture we’ll see what happens ,
So a friend gave me this many years ago and it sat in the corner in my shop so i finally Sliced it up on the bandsaw I knew it was kind of a cool piece of wood but I have no idea what kind it is , flat sawed looks like mahogany but I think it’s too heavy for that , quarter sawn gave me some pretty cool veneers, lacewood ?  any ideas on what Wood this could be ? Cheers Bryan [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 19, 2022, 09:00:20 AM

Sorry three of the same pictures that wasn’t supposed to happen :clapper: I think I have it figured out now 😂  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Appalachian Hillbilly on September 19, 2022, 09:45:30 AM

I got some bubbinga that looks very similar.  A little redder than that though. I love repressing wood.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: wood carver 2 on September 19, 2022, 10:34:15 AM

The color is similar to red beech, but a little on the dark side. The problem is that there are at least 50,000 known types of wood and skids tend to be made from lesser known ones or woods that aren’t economically valuable. That’s not to say that it isn’t any good. It’s heavy and hard and it’s certainly good looking wood. It should look great in a bow.
Part of the fun of being a woodworker is getting a piece of unknown wood and figuring out what it is.
Dave.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Mad Max on September 19, 2022, 11:07:49 AM

Where did the machinery ship from May give a clue

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 19, 2022, 11:16:52 AM

Hi i have no idea were the piece came from ive had it for at least 15 years lol, i will use it for its looks only.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Buggs on September 20, 2022, 10:47:22 AM

Does not look like Mahogany. You might try this website for identifying wood. It has the best wood pics I have seen online.

http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 20, 2022, 11:49:33 AM

Thanks Buggs i will look in to that ! 👍

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: kennym on September 20, 2022, 12:19:33 PM

This was my first guess


https://www.bing.com/search?q=leopard+wood+images&form=WNSGPH&qs=UT&cvid=0ca75df3f8dd41e0a3a212a68ae16a4b&pq=leopard+wood&cc=US&setlang=en-US&PC=HCTS&nclid=D7CB4DBAEB6852270337D7C9178AEC75&ts=1663690681893&wsso=Moderate


 or lacewood...

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Pat B on September 20, 2022, 04:01:05 PM

I was thinking it looked like some sort of oak. Does the freshly sawn wood have a distinctive smell?

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Mad Max on September 20, 2022, 06:44:21 PM

Show pictures after you sand all the saw marks out.
Looks pretty awesome already  :thumbsup:

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: wood carver 2 on September 20, 2022, 08:30:01 PM

After looking at your pictures again, that wood reminds me of a large jointer plane that my grandfather made a long time ago. My dad tells me that it’s made from a chinese oak. I’m pretty sure the wood came from a crate or skid from the dockyard.
Dave

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: wood carver 2 on September 20, 2022, 08:39:56 PM

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Here’s the jointer.
It’s so hard that it’s almost as smooth as polished stone. And it’s heavy too. 28” long by 3” square and it’s at least 15#.
Dave.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: wood carver 2 on September 20, 2022, 08:44:09 PM

Compare my last picture with your last one. Except for color, they’re pretty similar.
Dave.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Pat B on September 20, 2022, 11:33:29 PM

Now it doesn't look like oak.  :bigsmyl:
Years ago a few friends and myself bought the salvage rights to an old military warehouse at the port in Savannah., Ga
Outside the warehouse was a pile of dunage, scrap lumber used in the hold of a cargo ship to protect the cargo. Picking through the pile I found my first ever purpleheart. So, no telling what you will find in pallets and dunage piles especially coming from tropical countries.
 The columns in the WWII era government warehouse were 20' long, 12x12, clear, old growth spruce and the trusses and roof decking were old growth heart pine. 

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: pditto613 on September 21, 2022, 05:12:05 AM

It looks a little like angelim.  South American wood. Hard, heavy and high oil content. 

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Buggs on September 21, 2022, 09:23:58 AM

Thats a dandy plane Dave, and its an heirloom :thumbsup:

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: wood carver 2 on September 21, 2022, 04:23:12 PM

Thanks Phil. My grandfather passed years before I was born, so I never knew him. My dad gave me his old sixteen gauge double and a few reloading tools, as well as a hand made plover whistle that my grandfather hunted with, and a few hand tools.
Pat, my dad tells me stories from the war years about the wood he used to see at the dockyards. He said that wood such as greenheart, teak and parana pine was used for sheeting.
Dave.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Pat B on September 21, 2022, 05:02:08 PM

Nothing's too good for the US Gov.  :readit:   

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 21, 2022, 08:43:49 PM

That’s a very cool plane my father gave me a similar plane he made from a piece of cherry :notworthy: beautiful 👍 Funny Oak was mentioned as I researched some I came across a wood called Fishtail Oak , not an oak thou same family as Lacewood/ Leopard  . Native to Australia, I will find some time to take a couple more pics.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 22, 2022, 08:59:53 AM

Thanks everyone for your insight iam still not a 100% sure what it is but were close,  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]   [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
The last pic is the Fishtail Oak , very straight grain with little character when flat sawn , very nice when quartered. Thanks again everyone, have a great day!

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Kirkll on September 22, 2022, 12:55:02 PM

I’ve worked with both lace wood and Leopard wood, and I would lean towards fish tail oak more than those two…. But… the color doesn’t look right for fish tail oak. I’ve got some of that here, and it’s lighter color with deeper grain slots.

I have no idea what you have there…. But it looks good.

  Kirk

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: wood carver 2 on September 22, 2022, 04:53:17 PM

I asked my dad about the plane. He said that the wood is called lychee ( sp?) and it’s either a type of oak or it’s related. That’s all he knows about it other than it’s close to one hundred years old. What you can’t see in the pictures is the crack in the body next to the wedge. My cousin kept it with the wedge driven tight and the changes in humidity eventually cracked it. 🤬
Whatever wood it is that you have, it will look great in a bow.
Dave.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: OldRawhide42 on September 22, 2022, 05:05:19 PM

You could call it skid wood.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 22, 2022, 06:31:53 PM

Dave i will look up Lychee thats a neet old plane, here is the one my father built .
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Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Roy from Pa on September 22, 2022, 07:09:36 PM

Awesome plane....

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: wood carver 2 on September 22, 2022, 08:05:10 PM

Nice! There’s nothing quite like flattening a board with one of these is there?
What are the woods? The upper part looks like cherry.
Dave.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 22, 2022, 09:24:08 PM

Yes you bet its all cherry!  :thumbsup:

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Buggs on September 23, 2022, 10:46:59 AM

I was thinking it looks like this Corkwood; [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Thats another nice plane! I have to ask, what is that ugly a$$ carriage bolt head doing on top of that beautiful handcrafted tool?

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 23, 2022, 11:12:01 AM

Quote from: Buggs on September 23, 2022, 10:46:59 AM

I was thinking it looks like this Corkwood;

Thats another nice plane! I have to ask, what is that ugly a$$ carriage bolt head doing on top of that beautiful handcrafted tool?

Ah! I thought someone may ask that’s called a strike button to adjust and disassemble the plane without beating up the wood.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Kirkll on September 25, 2022, 12:14:45 PM

That carriage bolt needs desperately  to be swapped out with brass or bronze. That is sac religious right there. Down right blaspheme, it is… :biglaugh:

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: wood carver 2 on September 25, 2022, 12:59:03 PM

That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a metal strike plate on a plane. When my dad and grandpa made them, they put a small bevel on the ends of the plane to prevent any possible chipping or denting. They adjusted them by tapping lightly at the very end of the plane with a regular hammer. If the wedge was stuck, which should not happen, a wooden mallet could be used.
That’s not to say that it’s a bad idea, just a different way to skin that old cat. 😁
Dave.

Title: Re: Wood ID from Heavy machinery skid ?
Post by: Bryan Adolphe on September 25, 2022, 01:25:38 PM

Lol iam not sure were my dad dreamed that up but i’m sure he had a vision there what he loved most was building jigs and tools more than building anything with them, I guess maybe that comes from whether you’re doing it for a hobby like my father or like myself having to do it to make a living.
Kirk your right there brass would look so much nicer with that Cherry ! 😊