Hazard a guess

Re: My guesses are always hazardous to your health

Al Crandall --NE of Indy--

>Around here in central IN. smooth grey bark is usually beech or sycamore. The only way I can tell from the bark is that beech is about 3/16 - 1/4" thick and sycamore about 1/16" or so. The quarter sawn side of sycamore is the giveaway with its chatoyance and rays.

Re: My guesses are always hazardous to your health

MikeinCapeMay

>Definitely not sycamore. As for beech, does the grain similarity and odor that I've described sound like beech? The bark is not perfectly smooth.

Re: Hazard a guess

tek

>Describe the stink. Does it smell like dog poop or like urine? Some woods are known for their smells. Describing the type of stink might help someone identify it. Some Oaks and willows are referred to in slang terms, as piss oak, and piss willow. I believe some of the Elms smell like dog poop.

Re: Hazard a guess *LINK*

tek

>Here is a link to Ohio Tree's Index. Most of the pictures and descriptions a pretty good. You could look at some of the likely candidates and see if you find a match.


http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/forestry/Education/ohiotrees/treesindex.htm

Re: Hazard a guess

Jerry Whitaker

>If it stinks more when it gets wet....the it must be "Dog Wood".

Re: Hazard a guess

John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)

>It is not Ash ... ash smells great when turning. Plus the grain and bark is much coarser than beech.

If it is not sycamore, poplar, or elm (my first 3 guesses) then look at pin oak. Was it a relatively young tree (whose bark would be much smoother than an older tree)?

John

Upon further review

MikeinCapeMay

>Reading all of your replies and looking at the Ohio link (which is great by the way!).

tek, which oak is referred to a piss oak?

John, maybe pin oak? However, looking at tek's link I see one picture of red oak where the bark is rather smooth.

Maybe red oak with a version of the bark seen at tek's link. Maybe pin oak that's young with smoother bark. Again which trees when milled/turned green/wet have a urine smell?

ps

MikeinCapeMay

>Looking at those pics and hearing what John said, it's definitely not ash. So as I said maybe red or pin oak. What about beech? I've used KD beech in flatwork but never wet green beech turning stock. Can/does it have the urine-like odor?

Re: Hazard a guess

GeeSeaWhy

>Beech I don't recall having any distinctive smell but I've turned red oak that reminded me of the goat pen at the petting zoo. And not because goats have bad breath.

Graeme

Re: Upon further review

tek

>Usually some member of the Red Oak family is referred to as piss oak. It is slang and people use it as they see fit. How big in diameter are these pieces? The bigger older parts of red oak trees have rough bark some of the newer smaller stuff is smoother. One thing to try would be to wet it and put a rusty piece of steel on it and let it sit. If it has a high tannin content it will turn black where the nail made contact especially if done on end grain. If it doesn't turn black it's not an oak. If it does turn black it could be an Oak. Oak is just one species that will turn black from contact with iron. If you can split off a piece about 6" or 8" long and manage to blow bubbles in a glass of water through it, it's probably Red Oak.

Re: Hazard a guess

Mike L in Trabuco Canyon, CA

>Thanks for the link tek. I've finally identified the strange fruit-bearing tree that I saw some 30+ years ago near the side of a road in Ohio. It was osage orange; cool!

Cheers,

Mike

Ailanthus ??

Leo Van Der Loo

>

Gesundheit.

MikeinCapeMay

>

Re: Hazard a guess

Leo Van Der Loo

>Hi Mike

The reason I mention Ailanthus is that the bark of Beech, Sycamore and Ailanthus are very similar, If you take a close look at al three you will see that unlike most bark it is made up like a very fine wood grit, that is probably the reason the bark does not split when the tree grows, like with other bark like oak, walnut, ash etc., it is also smelly and the sapwood/hardwood is not much different in color. I just made a quick picture from a small bowl I still have, I don't have any of the bark or wood around.

Ailanthus is also called Chinese sumac, for its leaves, and also tree of heaven.

Have fun and take care

Leo V

Re: Ailanthus ??

Barbara Gill, Remlik VA

>Ailanthus definitley stinks! I doesn't look like oak though.

There is a good wood sample directory over at Wood Finder.

Re: Hazard a guess *LINK*

Barbara Gill, Remlik VA

>Another Ailanthus picture.

The thing about smells is that the interpretation is so subjective. People describe cottonwood as having a manure smell for instance. To me it smells like horse tack (leather) after it has been used. I don't find the smell unpleasant. Of course I like the smell of a horse barn. LOL


Ailanthus

Leo, A Question

Barbara Gill, Remlik VA

>Leo, how did the Ailanthus turn; did it distort much during drying? I have used it in woodworking after it was dry (nice and stable). I have found that the green lumber is difficult to dry flat.

Re: Ailanthus ??

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Ech. I can't even imagine turning that stuff. I try to kill it whenever I can. It is SO invasive. There are a few of them on the hill behind my house. They shoot up new ones through the roots all over my garden. In the spring they smell like, well, they smell nasty when flowering.

We call them ghetto palms because they'll grow in nothing more than a crack in the sidewalk.

Thanks

MikeinCapeMay

>I've read about the stuff. That's not it. I've a feeling it's some sort of oak and the bark is what threw me off. I'll try the "bubble test" today.

Thanks

Re: Ailanthus ??

Carole in VA

>You're right about it stinking. I haven't turned any of it yet, but from the picture he posted, it looks like the wood came from a fast growing tree which could also point to Ailanthus. I believe it is also called Tree of Heaven or Tree of Paradise. Although it is usually considerd a trash tree, we had a huge one that shaded our farmhouse until it fell in the 80's (on the house.) The limbs were so huge they had been supported by steel cables ever since I was a child. The trunk at 3 ft above ground level was 35' in circ. The tree folks said it was extremely rare for an Ailanthus to get that big. I miss that tree.

Re: ps

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Oh yeah, red oak is also known as piss oak, due to the smell. It smells just like urine when wet. It can also smell like vomit. My wife won't allow it in the house, and I agree.

Beech can smell similarly, especially the heartwood.

Re: Hazard a guess

Joe Herrmann

>The description, especially the smell, suggests that it could possible be cataulpa (spelling??).

Joe

I got bubbles

MikeinCapeMay

>Whacked off a piece about 4" and did the bubble test. So red oak it is. The bark on this really threw me. Thanks!

Re: I got bubbles

tek

>It probably is Red oak. I know the bubble test is a way to tell the Red Oak Family from the White Oak Family. I guess there may be other woods that have cells like long straws also. I'm not an expert on wood identification. I just picked up a few tricks from working with wood.