Wood identification

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Larry Garver

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Joined
Jul 26, 2022
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6
Location
North Canton, Ohio
I was gifted the pictured blank. Any idea of what the wood is?
Pen Blank.jpg
 
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My first thought was lacewood, too, based on the splotchy look, but that grain looks too wide for lacewood. At least the lacewood that I've seen/used, has had closer grain. I could certainly be wrong. The grain looks like cherry, but that can't be. I've never seen medullary rays like that in cherry. I'm probably over-thinking it, though.

Was it a bigger board that you can show a picture of?
 
sorcerertd said:
My first thought was lacewood, too, based on the splotchy look, but that grain looks too wide for lacewood. At least the lacewood that I've seen/used, has had closer grain. I could certainly be wrong. The grain looks like cherry, but that can't be. I've never seen medullary rays like that in cherry. I'm probably over-thinking it, though.

Was it a bigger board that you can show a picture of?
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I was only given the single pen blank. It was part of a pen turners estate inventory given to a local pen club. All four sides of the blank look the same. I do not believe it to be cherry or white oak. I have never seen this type of rays on cherry.
 
Looks like red oak to me. Look at the quartersawn illustration, you can see the "splotches".
 

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Another 2 picts would help:
1. end shot
2. side shot with the mm markings up. this would show the medullary rays from a different angle.
Tentatively I see it as red oak but some reason it that wood and even the medullary rays look a little weird to me. Usually they have sharp outlines even in rough cuts. Those medullary rays look like some "worm holes" that I have seen that have been filled up by the invading worm/bug. IF it is a worm hole filled, I would say it is some kind of fir or red word or cypress type.
 
leehljp said:
Another 2 picts would help:
1. end shot
2. side shot with the mm markings up. this would show the medullary rays from a different angle.
Tentatively I see it as red oak but some reason it that wood and even the medullary rays look a little weird to me. Usually they have sharp outlines even in rough cuts. Those medullary rays look like some "worm holes" that I have seen that have been filled up by the invading worm/bug. IF it is a worm hole filled, I would say it is some kind of fir or red word or cypress type.
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These are pics of the cut-off from this blank. all four sides plus end grain.
 

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You could play this guessing game forever. It could be a piece of wood that had a disease. Maybe in the Sycamore familiy such as London Plane wood. You may wanted to send it out to have it tested and identified.
 
A close look at different viewpoints - looks like it does have a worm hole or two, and those spots are filled with worm digested and expelled sawdust. I have seen that a couple of times and don't remember which wood species.

Photo #4 grain reminds me of sycamore. Come to think it I have seen some wormy hickory in which the holes were filled like that. I don't know which wood it is but I am sure it is worms that caused that.
 
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I have seen quarter sawn White Oak that has ray flecks like that. Of course Lacewood and Leopardwood show ray flecks, but they are typically darker woods. It could maybe be quarter sawn Beech or Birch too. JT is right though, it is just a guessing game unless you send it to someone that can really identify it. - Dave
 
leehljp said:
A close look at different viewpoints - looks like it does have a worm hole or two, and those spots are filled with worm digested and expelled sawdust. I have seen that a couple of times and don't remember which wood species.

Photo #4 grain reminds me of sycamore. Come to think it I have seen some wormy hickory in which the holes were filled like that. I don't know which wood it is but I am sure it is worms that caused that.
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The light color is NOT filed worm holes. The wood is a consistent texture and hardness regardless of color. The light color does not flake out like worm castings I have seen.
 
Larry Garver said:
The light color is NOT filed worm holes. The wood is a consistent texture and hardness regardless of color. The light color does not flake out like worm castings I have seen.
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Thanks for the update. I have not seen wood like this in the last 20 years of, as a hobby , receiving woods in SE Asia from friends there or buying samples of woods there, AND in the USA from friends, or from a good bit of lumber left to me from my dad. I have seen some with excessive worms packed tightly look something like that.
 
As you were given just that one blank you can't send it off to be identified. If it was from a larger board and you wanted to know then you could send a sample to the Forest Products Laboratory to be identified for free. They will do three samples per private citizen per year. The sample isn't returned. I wish we had this available to us on this side of the border.
 
Other than the markings it looks like a soft maple. The wide growth rings show a very fast growing tree.
the markings are a total mystery.
 
OK, Look at this link:

wormy wood figure

wormy wood figure
www.hobbithouseinc.com
4th row down has wormy ash with the worm holes filled. I know you said that your blank was hard at those spots. Worm hole fillings can be very hard. And look at the wormy persimmon - numerous long holes filled.
Row 8: wormy madrone, not as filled as yours but several are.

This link below, top board (cherry) - it has a filling similar to the blank posted, and it has been planned but the worm excrement is still there. Again some worm excrements harden to a hardness similar to the wood as though the fine sawdust excrement contained glue.

If you put several drops of CA over the wood and on the streaks - if it is normal wood "medullary rays" it will change colors similar to the wood around it; if it darkens considerably more than the wood around it, then it is sawdust (from worm excrement.)

I will admit that I have never seen that much worm hole filling without seeing some actual worm holes itself.
 
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**edit** ignore below. Apparently, my eyes aren't working tonight.

I think a picture of the end grain, rather than the face grain would greatly assist the identification.
 
egnald said:
I have seen quarter sawn White Oak that has ray flecks like that. Of course Lacewood and Leopardwood show ray flecks, but they are typically darker woods. It could maybe be quarter sawn Beech or Birch too. JT is right though, it is just a guessing game unless you send it to someone that can really identify it. - Dave
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I have just checked "Leopardwood" in the Wood Database. I think that is what my blank is. Thankyou for your help.
 
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