LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner
26K views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  Bill_Steele  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Like many before me, I'm trying to figure out if this mid century furniture is made of teak or walnut. I can't find an explanation of how to identify that gives me confidence. I think it's walnut, my friend swears it's teak, and I have no idea why it would or wouldn't be either. Can you help me identify and tell me what you're looking at to make that conclusion?

Thanks!

Image


Image


Image
 

Attachments

#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm going with walnut. Teak starts amber and turns light as time passes, almost like sun bleached white oak.

Similarly, Walnut starts off dark brown and fades to light brown (as the above photos show) over time.

The color, grain pattern, light figuring, and wide open pores tell me that it's walnut. The last picture looks like quarter sawn. The other photos show mostly flat sawn and light grain figuring (also prevalent with walnut). One piece looks like a weird cross-grain cut with lots of grain runout which is structurally undesired. I would doubt that it is composed of both teak and walnut as that would be as noticeable as mixing pine with red oak.
 
#16 ·
Your eyes can fool you, especially in pictures. Nothing in the world smells like teak. Cut it or sand it and if it's teak you will definitely know …... if you know what teak smells like. :)
 
#17 ·
Your eyes can fool you, especially in pictures. Nothing in the world smells like teak. Cut it or sand it and if it's teak you will definitely know …... if you know what teak smells like. :)

- shipwright
I have no idea what teak smells like! And I stripped it with Citrustrip, so that's most of what I smelled. Does it smell like anything else, for reference?
 
#19 ·
Like I said, nothing in the world, sorry.
In shipyards it is sometimes called the smell of money.
......... but it doesn't really smell like money ….. sorry again.
 
#20 ·
I agree-Teak has a very distinct smell-I love it. As soon as you cut it on your tablesaw you will understand. I think it also has a distinct feel-although smell and feel may be affected by how much it has weathered. It almost feels a little oily or lubricated. It might be the oils which give it the unique smell.