Identifying Wood: Introduction and Resource Guide

During a brief stint working in the antique furniture market, I learned one of the more befuddling challenges for amateur furniture enthusiasts and budding wood craftsmen lies in correctly identifying wood. Once you've learned the basics of just how complicated identifying wood can be, you might wonder whether self-professed wood or furniture experts even know what they're talking about. I spoke with a furniture designer to ask just what makes identifying wood so tough and what were the most reliable resources for getting a solid identification.

Because learning how to this correctly requires learning what wood really is, he explained that becoming familiar with the process can greatly enhance your appreciation of woodcraft and carpentry in general.

What Makes Identifying Wood Difficult?

A variety of factors conspire against someone trying to figure out what type of wood they've got once its identity has been lost or confused. For one, many tightly grained woods look very similar to a handful of types of wood. Also, sometimes the identity of the wood gets confused somewhere between the tree and when it finally arrives in someones shop. Another difficulty comes in when handling rough, unfinished wood where it is impossible to see the grain clearly. Some other variables include dishonest vendors, unusually sewn wood, and the quality or shade of the finish.

Identifying Wood Basics

Provided that the surface of the wood is finished or in good condition, the best place to start is to take a look at the grain. Identifying features of different wood grains include coarse or fine texture, visual figuring, color, and whether the wood is light or dark. However, these properties can alternate depending on how the wood was cut and whether the specimen is heartwood or sapwood. When identifying the wood of antique furniture, the process is aided by knowing roughly when and where the piece originated, as there are only a handful of commonly used woods from any area until recent history. When deal with rough wood, the process is considerably more difficult. However, a look at the size of the pores on the end grain may help considerably as wood various tests of how hard the wood is. For instance, some craftsmen will shoot a nail into an identified sample of the wood that they suspect the mystery wood is, and then shoot a nail into the mystery wood to see whether they are equally hard. A more precise measure of a wood's hardness is made by shooting a special metal ball and measuring how much strength it takes to lodge it into the wood. This is called a janka test.

Identifying Wood Resources

Perhaps the most useful resources for this topic are the books Identifying Wood and Understanding Wood by R Bruce Hoadley. Hoadley is largely considered the leading authority on identifying wood, and his discussions on the technical side of the topic are reputed to be very easy to understand. The books aren't terribly cheap, but they are common enough to find in used condition or at your local library.

Thankfully, the presence of some visual indexes with high quality pictures of woods are now available online that can help identify a finished specimen (links provided under sources below). For trickier cases, there are wood identification kits available that are helpful. These typically include a large number of veneers that can be matched up with what you are working with. Wood identification kits are also useful to have around your shop when trying to decide on the right type of wood for a project.

SOURCES:
http://www.minwax.com/how_to/identify_wood_species/
conversation with anonymous furniture designer
http://www.routerforums.com/tools-woodworking/10628-how-identify-wood-species.html
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/indextotal.htm
http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=15W12&FamilyID=3323
http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/identifying-wood-species-part-iii