Replies

1. 
   woodshaver | Jun 13, 2002 04:36pm | #1

   Hi,roly,the wood you showed,and described,might be,Polonia,my spelling is incorrect, but ,it sounds ,right. its used in japan for making gift boxes. the seeds were used for packing,china. thats how it got here. its also called the weed tree.

1. 
   theRev | Jun 14, 2002 02:27am | #2

   It's only spelling, but I believe it is paulownia. Jon will probably fill us in later. If is P, it should be pretty light when dried.

   P has been used for ages in Japan for drawer and dresser construction. It exhibits little movement during seasonal changes, hence its attractiveness for drawer construction.

   Pretty fast growing and is being farmed a lot now, I understand. Legend has it that Japanese farmers would plant a tree or two when a daughter was born so that when she grew to marriable (is that a word?) age, the trees would be big enough to mill for the dowry/wedding furniture.

   Scott

2. 
   MPHarper | Jun 14, 2002 07:52am | #3

   Roly,

   Poplar maybe, I know the green sap wod in Poplar turns brown with time and exposure.  Poplar is pretty soft and light, and when its not planed its fairly course.

   Matt-

1. 
   roly94 | Jun 14, 2002 05:41pm | #4

   Hi everyone and thanks for the response.This wood may be paulownia as a matter of fact.I have done some research on it since you guys have brought it to my attention and it certainly meets the criteria of open grain and super lightweight.The Japanese use it extensively for their tansus.They use quartersawn stock with just the light colored grain.Carvers really like this wood also.They say it carves like basswood,the premier carving wood.Incidentally the orientals also use it in making their violins.I imagine they have spruce over there but perhaps they like the sonic qualities of Paulownia better.I am not positive it is paulownia though because I haven't really seen a full picture of the wood intact with  the beautiful colored sapwood.That is what I really like about this wood I have found,paulownia or not.The sapwood doesn't change color  one bit after exposure to ambient UV rays like other woods.It has a fabulous rust or iron oxide color along with very dark brown streaks.Oh I am 100% sure this wood isn't poplar.I have tons of poplar.I am hoping Jon Arno the resident wood specialist(second only to Linneaus) will comment.Yoo-hoo Jon what's this wood.Be nice if I could make a new paragraph in this new forum and copy text when I want to,sorry.Thanks tons Roland.

1. 
   alexlisa | Jun 14, 2002 07:56pm | #5

   Your description sounds a lot like red or white cedar, too. What does It smell like?Plane a fresh shaving and give it a whiff. Ignore me if you've already done this.

1. 
   roly94 | Jun 14, 2002 08:18pm | #6

   q-sawn,this is not a common wood like cedar or poplar.I am familiar with most of the common woods,domestic or exotic, as I have seen pictures of them at the very least.That picture I chose to uplink here isn't very good obviously if one can get the notion it is poplar or cedar.I really need to take another picture where one can really see the very nice sapwood.Also this wood's rot resistance isn't the greatest either.Probably has the same rot potentiality as maple.Not fabulous.Poplar and cedar,of course,are much better in that department.Thanks for the response.Let's keep hacking away at it.Roland.

1. 
   sschefer | Jun 14, 2002 08:35pm | #7

   I almost hate to mention this because it is one of the woods that I've spoken of quite frequently. But.. since it was laying on the side of the road there is a good chance that it may not have any real value and the person who left it behind knew that. For that reason and because of the long grain pattern and obvious tendency to split, could it be Eastern Hemlock. I'm just guessing, I'm certainly no expert on the subject.

   Steve - in Northern California

   Edited 6/14/2002 1:45:33 PM ET by Steve Schefer

2. 
   jonsherryl | Jun 14, 2002 09:07pm | #8

   Roly, I've been following this thread, but posted pictures don't come up very clear on my computer...so, I couldn't tell from the picture whether it was even a wood for sure. From your description though (i.e., soft, open grained) two introduced species came to mind; paulownia or possibly Ailanthus (AKA tree of heaven.) They are both ring-porous and relatively soft. Paulownia has a warm tan color similar to butternut, while Ailanthus is usually a blonde or creamy yellow color. What you have may be so old that you can't detect the scent, but you would certainly remember the aroma of fresh Ailanthus from the first whiff onward...extremely foul. 

    Paulownia is very similar to our native catalpa in appearance, but its scent is much mellower and less creosote-like than is catalpa...Also it is slightly finer textured. If it's either of these woods, and you're curious enough to send me a sample, I'm sure I could ID it for you.

1. 
   roly94 | Jun 14, 2002 10:53pm | #9

     Steve it its't hemlock because I think hemlock pretty much looks like fir and pine and is much more rot resistant.I found it by the road in log form,of course,because of mother nature's wrath,immediately after a storm. (New paragraph here).Jon that would be fabulous to send you a sample.Also I would like to send you a sample of this elm we have been discussing that I have just out of curiosity's sake.It is very rot resistant so it cannot be the elm that everyone has spoken of.I would wager that it is slippery elm,like you suggested,which is a domestic species.That is,of course,if you have the time.My new e-mail address is:[email protected] you could e-mail me the address to send it to I will have it on its way.(New paragraph)Thanks tons to Jon Arno and everyone who has taken a gander at this wood at the very least.Much appreciated.And for those of you whose browser didn't corrupt the image and are curious about the identification I will get back to the thread once Jon identifies it for me.Roland.