# Barn find (Actually a shed)



## TurkeyHunter (May 18, 2019)

Found 7 of these planks. 1” thick a little over 4” wide and just over 10 feet long in my father-in-laws old work shed. He passed away a little over 7 years ago. I inherited his old Shopsmith and whatever I want in the shed. Never really had time until last year to get into it. After turning for about a year I decided today was the day to start going through some wood in the shed. I believe this is vertical grain cut heart pine. And a piece of walnut. 

Sorry no end grain because I don’t have a saw with me to clean the ends up.

Reactions: Like 3 | EyeCandy! 1


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## Steve in VA (May 18, 2019)

Nice find for sure! Going through old barns or sheds is always interesting.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## phinds (May 18, 2019)

First 3 look like Douglas fir and the last one I'm not sure about but it could be walnut


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## TurkeyHunter (May 18, 2019)

I will get some good end grain shots on Sunday.

Reactions: Like 1


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## barry richardson (May 18, 2019)

Q sawn heart pine! Nice!


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## TurkeyHunter (May 21, 2019)

End Grain Shots as promised.

Reactions: Like 1


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## phinds (May 21, 2019)

First one still looks like Doug fir to me but Barry could be right about it being Southern yellow pine. Also, it's rift cut, not quartersawn but you couldn't tell that by looking at just the face grain.

Second one, end grain pic not particularly helpful. Needs more cleanup so the anatomy can be seen.


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## Tony (May 21, 2019)

The last pic, hard to tell, but by coloring and the way it burns looks like Cherry to me.


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## phinds (May 21, 2019)

Tony said:


> The last pic, hard to tell, but by coloring and the way it burns looks like Cherry to me.


Tony, I can't say that's impossible but I do think it is VERY unlikely. A cleaned up end grain would tell for sure, but in the mean time I found a section of a walnut piece that is close to the mystery wood and similarly a section of cherry that is as close as I could get to the mystery wood and here they are:






mystery wood and walnut



 


mystery wood and cherry

Reactions: Like 2


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## TurkeyHunter (May 21, 2019)

What is the best way to clean the end grain up for you to tell? My father-in-law loved walnut, cedar, and mahogany. Sure did not look like cedar or mahogany. But I will admit it is lighter than most walnut. Again it has been in a workshop drying for a minimum of 7 years and maybe even closer to 20 (that is how long I have been married and I don't recall Pops ever working with anything (he appeared to have stopped woodworking just before I married his daughter).


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## phinds (May 21, 2019)

TurkeyHunter said:


> What is the best way to clean the end grain up for you to tell?


Sand it down to at LEAST 280 grit and preferably 400 grit and get a well-focused closeup. See my site for examples.

As an alternative, if you are really good with hand planes you can try planing it smooth. Also eXacto knives and razor blades work on small areas (enough to distinguish walnut from cherry)


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## Eric Rorabaugh (May 21, 2019)

Kind of looks like a type of mahogany to me but @phinds and @Mr. Peet will get to the bottom of it.


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## phinds (May 21, 2019)

Oh, and @TurkeyHunter you can send me a small sample and I'll do it. That's likely to get the best results.

Reactions: Great Post 1


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## Eric Rorabaugh (May 21, 2019)

TurkeyHunter said:


> and I don't recall Pops ever working with anything (he appeared to have stopped woodworking just before I married his daughter).



See what you did to that man?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mr. Peet (May 21, 2019)

Southern yellow pine and walnut, guessing black walnut.


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## TurkeyHunter (May 21, 2019)

phinds said:


> Oh, and @TurkeyHunter you can send me a small sample and I'll do it. That's likely to get the best results.


Pm your address and I’ll do that.


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## Nubsnstubs (May 25, 2019)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> See what you did to that man?



My thoughts too, Eric......... Sorry, Mike.... ....... Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Funny 1


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## TurkeyHunter (Jun 3, 2019)

Have not had a chance to send out the samples yet. I did make a call from the Doug Fir/Heart Pine.

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1


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## phinds (Jun 3, 2019)

That definitely looks more like heart pine so I think Mark and Barry are right and my first guess of Doug fir was wrong. When you send samples I can likely confirm that since pine generally has larger resin channels than fir.


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## TurkeyHunter (Jun 12, 2019)

Samples mailed today.

Reactions: Like 1


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## phinds (Jun 15, 2019)

Mike, I got the pieces today. I'll get the end grain sanded down and see what I can tell.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## phinds (Jun 15, 2019)

OK, unquestionably Southern yellow pine and Honduras mahogany. I knew the ID as soon as I had the pieces in hand but went ahead and did the fine sanding on the end grain. I thought from your pics that the second wood was probably walnut, but as soon as I had it in hand I could see that it was unmistakably Honduran mahogany.

Anyway, here's the result of the end grain analysis:






Your piece and a piece of Southern yellow pine




A piece of Douglas fir just to show how the resin canals are noticeably smaller.






Your piece and a piece of mahogany

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## TurkeyHunter (Jun 15, 2019)

Thank you.


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