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What type of wood is this?

1K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  ArmyOfNobunaga 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi guys,

I've been reading here for a while and joined in order to ask questions to learn more.

We buy wood from Austria that is reclaimed from homes. I have had a hard time figuring out what species some of it is.

Tire Automotive tire Wheel Wood Automotive design


This is one of the types. I don't want to type my guess as it may cloud someone's judgement.

Wood Automotive tire Tread Trunk Hardwood


It's hard as heck and very heavy. Will also dull a brand new resaw blade after about 80 foot of cuts.

Brown Bedrock Wood Trunk Formation


Thanks for any help everyone!
 

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#8 ·
Dense Austria hardwoods?

Oak and Ash are most common local 'hard' hardwoods.
Color difference between early and late wood, is very similar to Ash species.

If reclaimed wood is from country homes, could be from trees harvested from local land. There are some small amounts of Eucalyptus species like mountain ash, and white gum in warmer valley areas; which could be remote candidates too.

Too much weather damage on pieces in pics to clearly see end grain.
 
#9 ·
Thanks guys. I didn't think of ash. It holds a stain very very well and will move if we leave it out in a Houston storm , so I don't think it's petrified. But maybe I need to research that. I have a whole passel of wood pics I'd like to toss at y'all to see if uou have any ideas.
 
#10 ·
Looks really weathered to me. Weathered is an early stage of petrification. (A process of fossilization in which dissolved minerals replace organic matter)

I don't think it looks like any petrified anything I have seen. Cutting that stuff you want a wet saw, and a good mask/respirator. The dust can cause silicosis.

Sparks from a saw blade on contracting wood aren't that rare actually. If you saw in the dark, and film you will see it quiet a lot. Unless heavily controlled I don't suggest anyone doing that.

To get a real accurate answer you would first need more info, specifically a real date figure for how old a reclaimed house is? In the US we think of a house being really old when it's 200 years old. In Europe that well may be the average of "newer" homes. So you are probably looking at something local to where the house was because they didn't have shipping, and BORGs like we do now, so a Farmer building houses didn't want to haul wood 3 miles, he wanted the horse to drag it 50 feet.

I'm going to guess it's not a species that is really that hard. What it is, is hardened by age, and cycle after cycle of heating, and cooling. Many people in parts of the US have gotten into pine, spruce, and fir in a 40 year old home, and sworn it was as hard as a diamond. Couldn't cut it, weighed a ton, and no way could you pull the nails in it out. All descriptions of pine I have seen that only came out of a pre war home.
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
It looks like it was submerged for a time. Have you checked the moisture content? It may be heavy because it is waterlogged. Crosscut a piece and check the internal moisture content.

As for dulling blades, I'll bet there is a lot of embedded silica (sand) in it. It'll rapidly destroy HSS saw, planer and jointer blades making the salvage costs significantly higher.

Sanr is source of sparks. Hold sawn piece in strong light and tilt back and forth. You should see shiny specks of silica.

The rings are widely spaced suggesting fast growth. Truth be told, it looks like weathered Austrian pine or fir to me.
 
#13 ·
To clarify….."Petrified" was a joke because it looks so old

White Ash end grain pic.
Rectangle Slope Sky Composite material Pattern


- LeeRoyMan
Nice. That looks like it! Does ash have any minuscule pith rays? That is what has thrown me on this wood. They are faint pith like rays. I sanded one and stained it today just to make the rays pop if you would like a picture
 

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#14 ·
Does ash have any minuscule pith rays? That is what has thrown me on this wood. They are faint pith like rays. I sanded one and stained it today just to make the rays pop if you would like a picture

- ArmyOfNobunaga
If they actually are visible medullary rays, that might eliminate Ash. All wood has medullary rays, but most aren't visible to the naked eye. I've never seen Ash with visible rays and I can't find any pics either.
Definitley post more pictures.
 
#15 ·
It looks just like pressure treated pine people use for their docks. I have boards like that wash up on my sea wall all the time. Long exposure to the sun, then long time floating around the lake til it washes up. Don't think pressure treated pine that's weathered like that is that hard, or difficult to machine, though. Jim
 
#16 ·
Does ash have any minuscule pith rays? That is what has thrown me on this wood. They are faint pith like rays. I sanded one and stained it today just to make the rays pop if you would like a picture

- ArmyOfNobunaga

If they actually are visible medullary rays, that might eliminate Ash. All wood has medullary rays, but most aren t visible to the naked eye. I ve never seen Ash with visible rays and I can t find any pics either.
Definitley post more pictures.

- Tony_S
Hey Tony, that was another one of my questions on medullary rays. Thank you!!!!

I'll gather up some more pictures and post them. I know this is a tough ask as it's European…. I can Id many American woods in seconds but these 200-300 European boards are very tough for me.
 
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