Wood ID Help Please (Pics)

[bpatters69]

Hello All,

Can you identify the wood in the photos? The pictures with the darker photos have stain, prior to sanding. I thought the stain would make the grain pattern easier to see. I took these boards from a bed frame. The wood could be maple or cherry or maybe even some weird exotic from Central or South America. Its pretty well dried out as I imagine the wood is old.

My guess is Maple.

Thanks, Bill

[Gary G™]

I’m guessing maple.

[Hank Knight]

It looks like soft maple. The photo appears to show a slight grayish tint. That's an easy way to distinguish soft maple from hard maple which has a warmer, cream to tan color.

[JosephP]

It looks like soft maple. The photo appears to show a slight grayish tint. That's an easy way to distinguish soft maple from hard maple which has a warmer, cream to tan color.

Agreed.  Does it really matter if it's soft maple or hard maple?  If it does, need much closer view of a very clean cut (like shaved with a plane) end grain.  Even then it's tough, but the arrangement of rays can be a little different.  Or, honestly if it dents with a fingernail it's probably soft maple.  If it doesn't, it's probably hard maple.  Probably.

[Hank Knight]

Agreed.  Does it really matter if it's soft maple or hard maple?  If it does, need much closer view of a very clean cut (like shaved with a plane) end grain.  Even then it's tough, but the arrangement of rays can be a little different.  Or, honestly if it dents with a fingernail it's probably soft maple.  If it doesn't, it's probably hard maple.  Probably.

Soft maple isn't as soft as the name would imply. It is softer than hard maple, but it's still pretty hard. I don't know that I can dent it with a fingernail. I've used it for lots of furniture parts and have enjoyed the way it works. It's easier than working hard maple, but I don't think it sacrifices any significant strength or sturdiness in furniture applications. It accepts stain pretty well; so if I'm finishing it with a natural finish, I usually use amber shellac and even add a little Transitint dye to it to overcome the bland gray color of the soft maple. It accepts paint well. I've made several pieces that I've painted with milk paint and I've been very happy with the results.

[JosephP]

[attachment=51128]

Sometimes you just need need the right tools 

[JosephP]

A lot of domestic painted furniture (Amish...) is soft maple around here. They like working with it.

It doesn't dent a lot, but you can tell a difference.... it's certainly not a sole means of identification and separation of soft maple and hard maple, but it's another clue.

[Gary G™]

The innerweb says: Hard Maple hardwood has a Janka hardness score of 1450, while Soft Maple has a hardness score of 950.

[JosephP]

Could also test specific gravity. Averages 0.63 for hard maple and 0.54 for soft maple.

[Nordic]

I’d say maybe alder, especially if it was secondary wood in the original bed frame. Otherwise maple is as good a guess as any for me…