Hello. I just acquired some interesting wood from an estate auction. No one there knew what it was. It seems like pine but the figure also looks like Birdseye maple. Is there Birdseye pine? Is it rare or common. Does anyone work with it? Just the 6 boards on the right of the picture of all the boards. Any information would be helpful. Thank you.
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It's really tough to ID wood with just pictures. That said, here are a couple of thoughts. Birdseye refers to a grain pattern. I don't think that's what you have. Your wood looks like it has spalted or Ambrosia. Spalting is a fungus that gets into the wood and makes it pretty, Ambrosia is a beetle that invades the tree and adds color and interest to the wood.
I can't see the grain in photo really well, but what I can see doesn't look like maple. Pine has a distinctive smell. Hit it with a little sandpaper and give it a snort. One of the boards looks like a Poplar kind of grain. But again, hard to say from a picture. And, by the way, my info/guesses are very USA/North America biased. More info like where the wood is from, a picture of the end grain, can you dig your fingernail into it, what does it smell like would help.
Not sure if you are familiar with The Wood Database. https://www.wood-database.com/ You might find useful information there. It is very interesting looking and whatever it is, it will make a beautiful project.
Thank you.
It could be Western Red Cedar from the look of the grain and the knots. If it is very lightweight and smells strongly of cedar, then that is what it is.
Knowing what part of the world in which you abide would be helpful, since it is most likely a local wood. My guess is some type of conifer or softwood, but I would also suggest the Wood-Database and a magnifying glass.
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