Wood Identification help?

[jonny]

Hey everyone, got something for ya.

My dad works at a grain elevator, and his boss also owns an old cattle barn. So this winters' make-work project was to tear down the old barn. Along the ends of the barn were some boards to stop the cattle from rubbing up against the structure. They're hardwood, 2" thick, a bunch were 14' long and a bunch were 10' long. Dad bought them off his boss for $75, and all of the longer ones are going to be used for the floor in our woodshop.

As we were putting them in, we got to wondering what exactly they are. I planed one of the off cuts to see. If I were to venture a guess I would say white oak, but thats only based on some similar grain patters to the red oak my brother has. It has some big open pores in the grain and it's moderately heavy.

So, here they are. Can anyone tell what it is from the pics? Thanks everbody

[szlash280z]

Looks like a sweet piece of Ash to me

[szlash280z]

Shameless plug, my Explorer is made of Ash. looks just like your board.

[jonny]

I actually just looked at your thread. Good stuff!

That was a thought too. I have very little experience with different kinds of wood, other than what I've used for guitars.

And, whatever this is, I'm pretty sure it will find it's way into a few guitars!

[SG Lou]

I'm leaning toward slab sawn White Oak.
Pic's 3 & 5 is what made me think it's Oak, yet pic's 1,2 & 6 look like Southern Yellow Pine

[fatdaddypreacher]

sure is tough to tell with pics, as lighting can through off color variations. the grain looks like it could be white oak, red oak, or ash. the last pic shows more of an ash color, as it is generally dark egg shell white/blonde, whereas red oak has more of a pinkish hue to it like the first pics, and white oak, oddly enough, has a tendency to be more of a tan/brown.

i'm leaning towards red oak on the first pics, but it may be that there is more than one specie in all of those boards. you may have some of all three or more.

good looking stuff at any rate, however, general opinion i have seen stated doesn't favor oak as a decent guitar wood. i understand it is poor in tonal qualities, and it's heavy.

hope this helped more than hurt.

[shadpeters]

it looks like it could be ash, white oak, or maybe even hickory. My guess would be ash. Ash is a much faster growing tree than white oak so often the size of the growth rings is a dead give away. I have seen white oak that had 50 growth rings in just a few inches, you'll never see that on ash.

[jonny]

Thanks guys, this is exactly what I'm looking for

FDP, those pics are all the same board, and one thing I can say for sure is that its not red oak. We have some of that here, and this stuff is not red at all. Oh, and for sure not pine

As far as growth rings, looking at the end of the board, on the side closer to the centre of the tree, ther are 4-5mm, and get narrower to 2-3mm.

Great help so far guys!

oh, and I'll try to get some pics in natural light tomorrow, to make it easier to tell the colour.

[fatdaddypreacher]

that given, and even closer looks at pics, if i were to bet, i'd put my chips on ash. it doesn't have that dirty drawers smell that white oak has, or i'd be smelling it over hear.

[renthepen]

I came here to see the "yep! it's wood!" pic but it's not there yet. I'll come back later.

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by renthepen

I came here to see the "yep! it's wood!" pic but it's not there yet. I'll come back later.

Me too!

[emoney]

What's scary is, that means there's three of us thinking alike?!

Somebody PM me when that pic shows up?

[GreaseBox]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

Me too!

Me three!

Looks like white oak to me... but all I can tell you for sure is that it is wood...

[evolved_insanity]

Its not brown enough to be white oak. Both white and red will generally have piths in the grain. If I were a betting man, I would put my money on ash. Probably northern white ash. Naturla light pictures will help though. Where are you located? That could give us a hint on what it is.

[ihavenofish]

ash

[beattle55]

If the farm that the barn was on is in Western Canada, it would most likely be Red or White Oak, as I have never seen ash used up here.

[randelli]

................. so happy this is NOT an afterhours thread

I am guessing white oak.

[loveboat]

Sorry, couldn't help it

[emoney]

Finally....

[renthepen]

Now a little inside joke:

Originally Posted by SG Lou

Pic's 3 & 5 is what made me think it's Oak, yet pic's 1,2 & 6 look like Southern Yellow Pine

[jonny]

Originally Posted by evolved_insanity

Its not brown enough to be white oak. Both white and red will generally have piths in the grain. If I were a betting man, I would put my money on ash. Probably northern white ash. Naturla light pictures will help though. Where are you located? That could give us a hint on what it is.

Hey Jon,the barn was in Oxford County, about 25 minutes south of Woostock, and about 45 to Kitchener. Southern Ontario, for those who have no clue what that means It was about 40 years old or so.

Here are the pics with some natural light.









The smaller piece is red oak for comparison.

According to Wikipedia, White Ash does grow around here. It would be great if it was ash, even though it's not swamp ash it's better than oak for guitars.

[emoney]

Sure looks like Oak, but what do I know? They do say that White Ash is a pretty popular North American wood.
I'd use it regardless of what it is if it's not uber heavy.

[VictOr358]

You know what they say, Ganja is actually a tree, but there's no chance people let it grow tall enough. (c)

My call is Ash though

[ThePinkEraser]

Originally Posted by SG Lou

I'm leaning toward slab sawn White Oak.
Pic's 3 & 5 is what made me think it's Oak, yet pic's 1,2 & 6 look like Southern Yellow Pine

That's what I'm saying. Looks a lot like white oak by the thick, even, and grainy patterns the grain make.

Then again, it doesn't really have the light brown that white oak has about it. That board just seems like it's too light to be white oak.

[ihavenofish]

the newest pics chamge my vote from ash, to 100% guaranteed ash.

[evolved_insanity]

That is 100% White Ash. White oak is actually darker than red oak and has a yellow/tan/brown colouration to it. Use it but do a semi hollow Tele or something with it. It wis probably a little heavy but its beautiful. You got some nice ash!!

[fatdaddypreacher]

i started to post my own confirmation of ash, but figured , naw, but then^^^this happened. if it ain't ash, it sure missed a good chance.

[D Rhinehart]

I say Ash !

[emoney]

I think you should tell people to kiss it.


.....get it? Kiss my ash.....buwhahahahahaha

[renthepen]

Originally Posted by jonny

According to Wikipedia, White Ash does grow around here.

There is a good chance you got one next to your house and you just don't know it. There is a big problem right now in Eastern Canada with a bug (Agrilus planipennis) that is killing the Ash trees.

Montreal, with it's 45,000 Ash trees (one out of 5 tree), has been burning a shitload of sick trees, to my despair.

I'd shoot some nitro on those bugs just to see if they can survive inside a guitar