Tough wood ID (Big Pics)

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rjwolfe3

rjwolfe3

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I need to ID this wood. It grows naturally here in Ohio. Came from an Amish sawmill. It is kinda of heavy and the bandsaw didn't like it much. It has some pretty flecks in it that the picture doesn't show. I tried to wet it but it dried before I took the pictures. It has a reddish tint to it. Any guesses?

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Well, that sucks. I was hoping it was something else because of how dense it is. This stuff is harder then oak. Oh well, I should have let my dad burn it then, instead of cutting it up for blanks. Thanks for the help.
 
one of the types of Locust is more likely.

Beech ain't that hard.

can you surface a face so we can see it better?

this is Honey Locust
 

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I would not be disappointed yet, never known beech to be very hard or very heavy(at least in my experience with it) Please sand and polish up 1 side to give a better look at it, wey it with baby oil and it wont dry b4 the pic is taken.
rjwolfe3 said:
Well, that sucks. I was hoping it was something else because of how dense it is. This stuff is harder then oak. Oh well, I should have let my dad burn it then, instead of cutting it up for blanks. Thanks for the help.
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K will try. Only have a sanding disc on my radial arm saw so I will see what I can do. Need to invest in a sander or jointer one of these days, lol.
 
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Ok, took another piece and sanded to 100 grit on three sides and threw on some oil. This is not the same piece as the first one and this one has some coloring in it not present in the first one.

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The last pictures surely show it is beech!!That is the typical look of beech.
In Germany it is a very common wood, real hard and dense - I loved the look of beech furniture. There are several different species, like the Rotbuche (red beech) and Weissbuche (white beech). It makes great sawdust for smoking sausages and meat - my grand father had a saw dust business to deliver the saw dust to the butchers for smoking their products.
I have a few pieces from a beech tree my brother felled a few years back and need to make some pens out of it.
 
K thanks guys. Will toss it back in the burn pile then. Man I wasted an entire day cutting that stuff up too, lol. Have about 100 pen and bottle stopper blanks now.
 
I'm late with my reply but it is definitely beech or something in the Beech family.......maybe a son-of-a-beech. Good for Bar-b-queing meat or smoking but doesn't turn nicely or finish well.
 
You know a lot of people only turn the better woods, but me, I am a glutton for punishment, and I turn a lot of things that others wrinkle their nose at. I have turned cedar, pine, fir, grapevine, red oak, white oak, black jack, beech, balsa, butternut, willow, cottonwood, crepe myrtle, wisteria and on. I play around the different woods, color some, distress some, carve and fill some, use in segments and such.

In fact I recently took down a 48" diameter Cottonwood tree from our backyard that ended up having a very large heart section and a small sapwood section. Some of the green turnings are looking very promising and the crotchwood looks great. Most people don't like cottonwood, and it can have a lot of fuzz and be rough sanding on the end grain, but I still work with it.:biggrin:

If you haven't burned the beech yet, let me know what you would take for some of it.

Thanks
 
great12b4ever said:
You know a lot of people only turn the better woods, but me, I am a glutton for punishment, and I turn a lot of things that others wrinkle their nose at. I have turned cedar, pine, fir, grapevine, red oak, white oak, black jack, beech, balsa, butternut, willow, cottonwood, crepe myrtle, wisteria and on. I play around the different woods, color some, distress some, carve and fill some, use in segments and such.

In fact I recently took down a 48" diameter Cottonwood tree from our backyard that ended up having a very large heart section and a small sapwood section. Some of the green turnings are looking very promising and the crotchwood looks great. Most people don't like cottonwood, and it can have a lot of fuzz and be rough sanding on the end grain, but I still work with it.:biggrin:

If you haven't burned the beech yet, let me know what you would take for some of it.

Thanks
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Rob, Guts, (Bill) gave me some spalted cottonwood that I made several nice pens from, I'm like you I'll turn some stuff that others turn their noses up at.
 
Why toss it? Turn your pen, hit it with a little yellow then some red dye, for a nice rosy glow, and sell it as a SunnyBeach pen!

;-)

Scott.
 
Beech without a doubt.Beech is hard/dense but turns pretty easy as most hard/dense woods do.Beech is a favorite for making plans and mallets and things that need to be tough.Its a under used wood and is very beautiful when quarter sawed.Make some tools handles with the stuff its great for that also.Victor
 
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