Identify this wood?!


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Old 02-05-13, 09:04 PM
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Identify this wood?!

I'm having trouble posting a photo. Is there someone I can email a photo to that will help me?
 
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Old 02-05-13, 09:11 PM
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Welcome to the forums!

See How To Put Pictures In Your Post and How To Include Pictures.

We look forward to seeing them.
 
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Old 02-05-13, 09:17 PM
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Your profile indicates you're in Australia? For those of us here in the USA, it might mean that the exact species of wood might baffle us. What's ordinary there might be exotic here! Good luck posting the pics.
 
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Old 02-05-13, 10:14 PM
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Old 02-06-13, 03:07 AM
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Pictures are fine. Only thing I would request, if possible is a pix of the end grain. It resembles our fir or spruce, but an end grain pix may help narrow it down. Is this on a table?
 
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Old 02-06-13, 03:29 AM
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Yeah this is large dining table. It's been handed down over generations so I'm looking into restoring it a little but need to know what that wood is!
Thanks for your reply. I can definitely get more pictures but what exactly am I taking it of? Sorry i tried to google the end grain thing but I'm left a little confused lol.

thanks for your help
 
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Old 02-06-13, 04:07 AM
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OK, from the edge of the table, take a picture of the edge of the wood, looking down the top of it, sort of sideways. --------->
 
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Old 02-06-13, 04:42 AM
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Ok mate thanks for that I'll take a pic first thing tomorrow and put it up so make sure to check back!
thanks again
 
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Old 02-06-13, 04:51 AM
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End grain examples:
 
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Old 02-06-13, 08:45 PM
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Ok so here's a pic of the edge of the table. It doesn't really look like the pictures above but the word kind of curves down on the side.

Hope this is what u needed

 
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Old 02-06-13, 08:52 PM
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That doesn't look like end grain to me. Best guess from me is pine but I'm not the best one at this kind of stuff on the site so hang tight for the others.

In the meantime, can you get a picture without so much flash reflection in it?
 
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Old 02-07-13, 03:08 AM
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It is definitely a soft wood such as pine, spruce, fir, etc. Clear, however. The table won't show end grain, since the edges are either breadboarded or finished, so that's OK. How much refinishing does it need? Is it right on top? I doubt there is a stain on it, but if so, a light one.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 03:43 AM
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Thanks guys!!
There are a few scratches on top i want to see if i can sand back a little and stain the whole table (It appears to have a light staining to it). so now to do some research on fixing up softwoods!

Thanks again and i appreciate your help! I didn't even know where to start before looking at this site probably would've messed up quite a nice table lol.

I won't be starting this overnight as I want to know exactly what I'm doing before i start, so I'll have a look around the forums for any threads to help me in the next step. If u have any helpful links feel free to help some more
 
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Old 02-07-13, 04:55 AM
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No worries, mate; keep us posted.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 05:04 AM
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Stain is only effective over raw wood. It's possible that you might just be able to sand the top and apply another coat of poly. It's possible the wood doesn't have a stain - oil base poly will deepen the colors naturally in the wood and also ambers some as it ages. If you want a darker stain you have 2 choices; remove all of the existing finish [chemical stripper then sanding] or apply a tinted poly like Minwax's PolyShades.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 06:48 AM
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Mark beat me to it but as soon as I read your last response I had the same thought going through my head - stain works by being absorbed into wood so there can't be anything on the surface already. You could sand the top and then add some oil based polyurethane to deepen the color or strip it back to wood and start over. I don't know that you have pine per se but seems to be something similar and pine is kind of tough to stain so my thought would be to see what I could do with just the poly first.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 09:52 AM
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I would use a liquid to refinish this table rather than sanding it. FWIW.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 10:03 AM
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Nash: You've exceeded my knowledge - can you explain the process and what liquid?
 
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Old 02-07-13, 11:03 AM
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Sure. Formby's is probably the best-known product. It comes with instructions, but you basically clean the surface and use the refinisher to dissolve and re-apply the original finish.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 11:31 AM
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OK, so it works with drying finishes like lacquer but not curing ones like poly?

I wonder if it's lacquer?
 
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Old 02-07-13, 04:14 PM
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What about these pictures makes you guys think it is a softwood? Truthfully, I can't really tell what it is in the picture. Being half way around the world in an area that has completely different wood supplies doesn't make it easy.

blair777, do you know what woods are commonly used for furniture in Australia?
 
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Old 02-07-13, 04:16 PM
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I want to say it is maple since it is a older table. That grain to me is too tight to be pine or fur. Also the way the color glows in certain areas, and the small knots, makes me think it is maple.

Maybe a picture of the bottom side of the table would also be helpful.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 04:19 PM
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This could get you started: Australian Hardwood Network Unfortunately, I don't find the pictures to be large enough to see well. Several of the woods look the same to me.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 05:54 PM
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It looks like a softwood to me,like a cypress or doug fir but I would like to know if the table is heavy....Yeah, I know, how is he going to be able to tell that, well relatively heavy. That grain in the first picture looks like it could suck up a gallon of stain.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 06:06 PM
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I would doubt the wood is anything we use here. It is probably something native to Australia. If it isn't, it is more likely to come from Asia. There are just too many species of wood in the world to make that call if you are not familiar with the area and the woods used there.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 06:13 PM
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Unless it is a table imported by department stores from America. Ever think of that? It doesn't necessarily have to be native wood. I'm making frames in the shop of Brazilian walnut....definitely not local stuff.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 06:18 PM
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That is a possibility, but it is more likely to made with something from that part of the world. There are many exotic woods commonly used here in the US that would not be common elsewhere. Brazilian Walnut is a common exotic here.
 
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Old 02-07-13, 06:39 PM
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Absolutely, we all know this could be a wood we've never seen, we're making the best guesses we can based on the woods we know.
 
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Old 02-08-13, 04:30 AM
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I wonder if Blair went to a local cabinet shop or maybe even a furniture store if they could do a better job of identifying the species of wood
 
 

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