[ChefHDAN]

Happy New Year All!!!
Out antiquing with my wife yesterday and ran across a table, that I'm going to make a 3 hour round trip to go back and get because of how gorgeous this wood is. Can't really believe it was used as a full stock top and aprons for this table, and then given such a deep stain. I've seen this type of figured wood before in guitar blanks but now of course, because I need/want the information I cannot find a reference pic and hope you all can help me out. Apologies for a what wood is this, and I'll have some better images later today, but these are the only two I took yesterday when I saw it. I have a bench project in the shop and this will be beautifully set off for the seat & backs, so if you're near Washington DC and need some console table legs give me a holler. 😎

 

[Dark_Lightning]

Curly cherry(?). Beautiful, in any event.

 

[Tony_S]

Hard to say what flavor it is...more than likely Maple though. The figure is called 'Quilted' or 'Pommele'.

 

[LeeRoyMan]

Quilted Makore, except it looks a little browner, maybe age?

 

[Tony_S]

Quilted Makore, except it looks a little browner, maybe age?

Could be...doesn't look 'grainy' enough for Makore to me, but it's been a good long while since I've worked with it.

 

[Knothead62]

Some type of maple, I'm guessing.
You know you are getting old when you see things that were new when you were a kid are now in an antique shop.
Sign: Grandma bought it. Mom threw it away. I bought it.

 

[Foghorn]

Looks like quilted bigleaf maple.

 

[ChefHDAN]

Some type of maple, I'm guessing.
You know you are getting old when you see things that were new when you were a kid are now in an antique shop.
Sign: Grandma bought it. Mom threw it away. I bought it.

Knot, the seller said it was purchased from an estate in eastern VA (Richmond) and that the family said the gentleman was a woodworker and reportedly paid a fortune for the stock, which I believe given how nice it is, but, it's kind of astonishing that this wood was used for the top and the apron and then just what appears to be purchased plain legs. Assembly is with Z clips and all the screws are slotted so I'm guessing maybe a 50's 60's build.

 

[ChefHDAN]

Thanks all, should get a little shop time tomorrow to get the table broken down and skip planed to get a better look at it. Apologies for the double pics, learning the new site slowly but surely. Have been doing some searching and does anybody have any votes for quilted mahogany?

 

[Foghorn]

Could be quilted mahogany or bubinga based on the last pic. Maybe from "the tree"! The Tree: The Most Notorious Tonewood in the World - StewMac

 

[Tony_S]

Now that you post that last picture, I don't think it's Maple. Might be Makore...Might be Mahogany?

 

[Phil32]

When this process is completed, you will have several guesses as to the wood identification, but no one has offered a definitive answer. Have you considered getting a DNA analysis?

 

[Foghorn]

When this process is completed, you will have several guesses as to the wood identification, but no one has offered a definitive answer. Have you considered getting a DNA analysis?

Once it's broken down, an end grain close-up would certainly help. In the end, it's beautiful wood. I'm sure you'll do it justice!

 

[Ocelot]

The tree.

The Tree Quilted Mahogany Guitar Sets

Each set of The Tree is part of 500 years of history. The Tree fought to reach the jungle canopy so it could get to the sun.

thetreeguitarsets.com

I wouldn't do anything to it until sure of what it is. If it's "The Tree", you might want to sell it to guitar makers.

 

[QC Inspector]

You have a free wood identification service from your government that we don't have here. They will identify the wood sample you send them. Forest Products Laboratory - USDA Forest Service

If it were mine I would not skip plane it. I would scrape the underside with a cabinet scraper to get a small area to bare wood and see what that looks like before doing anything else. Skip planing removes wood you can't put back and that grain is going to tear out leaving deeper damage. Cutting it to fit in a planer also limits the use and value of the wood. One of those times where taking it slow and a little at a time is the best thing to do.

Pete

 

[HammerSmith]

Happy New Year All!!!
Out antiquing with my wife yesterday and ran across a table, that I'm going to make a 3 hour round trip to go back and get because of how gorgeous this wood is. Can't really believe it was used as a full stock top and aprons for this table, and then given such a deep stain. I've seen this type of figured wood before in guitar blanks but now of course, because I need/want the information I cannot find a reference pic and hope you all can help me out. Apologies for a what wood is this, and I'll have some better images later today, but these are the only two I took yesterday when I saw it. I have a bench project in the shop and this will be beautifully set off for the seat & backs, so if you're near Washington DC and need some console table legs give me a holler. 😎
View attachment 3864653 View attachment 3864654

That is a spectacular piece there! ..but I'm having trouble understanding the pics.

The top view looks like one giant slab, so I don't understand the underside pic.

Even though the color seems too dark, I would guess it's quilted maple with 60 years of patina. Is that a shellac finish on top?

The color looks kinda like it could be Mahogany, but I don't see the large pores that Mahogany would have. Or maybe it's that kind of Mahogany that we can't get anymore?

 

[ChefHDAN]

Thanks all for the help so far, but it's gotten a bit crazy. I have a neighbor that does repro work for one of the large establishments in DC that was able to come by, he's definite it's too light to be either maple or mahogany, and the pics are crazy, the wood has a green tinge, the edge grain is soooo wavy. There is no discernable aroma to the sawdust, and once disassembled I found more holes in the underside so it seems the wood was previously taken from something else and it could be from anywhere. The images are with the stock sanded clear both dry and wet. From the amount of tear out on the underside it's clear that it will only be going through the drum sander and not the planer. I realize it may never be solved but I'm certain it's not Alder, (Lol ), and it's going to make an amazing piece.

 

[dougritson]

My first guess was quilted maple. If it feels heavy and hard, it probably is maple. Mahogany would be lighter and softer. Lack of small tight growth rings in the end grain pics make it look subtropical. I have no idea how to janka test something, but that might be a good start.

 

[Bertha]

Insane! I have no idea what it is. At first, I thought Bubinga, but I've never seen that quilting. I had a piece of Eucalyptus (sp?) that was similar, but much lighter. I've NEVER seen edge grain like that! So rhythmical and undulating. Nature is metal!

 

[dbray45]

Definitely gorgeous, not a species but would like to see what you do with it.