Wood - telling the difference

[Anonymous]

Hi, is there a definitive source somewhere of what wood is what ?
I'm not sure it matters that much but I'd dearly like to know if I've got oak, elm or other floorboards..

 

[Putters]

You could try the imaginatively titled "Wood Database" ...

http://www.wood-database.com/

 

[88v8]

Post a pic

Meanwhile, http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/woodgrain.cfm
...slippery elm, white oak, and various other woods you didn't know existed.

Ivor

 

[MikeG]

Hi, is there a definitive source somewhere of what wood is what ?
I'm not sure it matters that much but I'd dearly like to know if I've got oak, elm or other floorboards..

Oak and elm are very different woods. Post some good photos and I should be able to tell. I've actually been a professional furniture maker in the past, and am now an active hobbyist, working in native hardwoods, so I should be able to give you a clue. However, nothing beats holding the stuff in your hands, and sometimes, smelling the sawdust. The difficult ones to tell apart are oak and chestnut, in my view.

 

[Keith Bowman]

Elm floorboards usually have a beautiful swirly sort of grain. Oak is more likely to be straight grained and possibly showing some medullary rays (ie, sideways on to the grain itself). Or post some pics and the wiser heads here than mine will give their opinions (and possibly get us all confused ).

 

[Flyfisher]