I know this is not the right way to ask

Jay B. Turnin

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But time is if the essence and I'm hoping for some quick visual guesses of what kind of wood this is. It turns very soft and generates almost snowflake like shavings. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Tclem

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Bradford pear ?
 

Karl_TN

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Pretty sure it's not box elder based on some i recently cut, but my only guess at the moment is either a type of holly or magnolia because of the quick oxidation and somewhat smooth bark. Got any leaf pics?
 

Jay B. Turnin

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
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Sorry , no leaf pics, picked the stump out of yard waste dump.thanks for the response.
 

Arn213

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Could it be lilac per post #4? I guess it is low density on how it was described per op. So it won’t be lilac.
 
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daniscool

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Could be tree of heaven? Ailanthus altissima. In my experience its a very soft quickly growing species that has a wide pith. It also corrodes when in contact with steel or iron. I have seen bluish and pink shades so that purple you're getting looks possible. It grows everywhere in my area and is nice for carving.
 

Mr. Peet

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Could it be lilac per post #4? I guess it is low density on how it was described per op. So it won’t be lilac.
The few Tree lilac forms are less dense than 'common lilac' shrub form. However, even the tree lilac species have a certain smell when working. Nothing said about smell so far.
Could be tree of heaven? Ailanthus altissima. In my experience its a very soft quickly growing species that has a wide pith. It also corrodes when in contact with steel or iron. I have seen bluish and pink shades so that purple you're getting looks possible. It grows everywhere in my area and is nice for carving.
Tree of Heaven is ring porous and works very similar to 'Green ash' or even 'White ash' at times. The wood shown looks to be diffuse porous.
 

daniscool

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I should explain: There are two trees of heaven.
One is an ornamental species that is often planted where quick growth is needed, and the other is an ornamental species that is planted in north america.

I live in europe. The species Ailanthus altissima is the european one and is diffuse porous. The bark fits as does the purplish coloration and density. It is likely that this species is often found in north america but not known as tree of heaven because it's a "usurper" species.

That said, he is in north america and not in europe so...
My guess, though possible, is unlikely.
 

Mr. Peet

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daniscool

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Errm yes my bad. But the point that it still grows in the us isn‘t invalid yet. It’s not native to Europe either and it’s actually a pest here. Sorry about the mixup. At least there was someone to clean up my mess
(-; thanks and good luck. Have you finished you’re turning yet? And if so, pic?
 

daniscool

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Errm yes my bad. But the point that it still grows in the us isn‘t invalid yet. It’s not native to Europe either and it’s actually a pest here. Sorry about the mixup. At least there was someone to clean up my mess
(-; thanks and good luck. Have you finished you’re turning yet? And if so, pic?
 
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