I am new to this hobby and was just given an old family kid’s desk to refinish. It’s about 90 years old. I sanded it down to bare wood and was wondering if anyone could tell me what type of wood they think it’s made of. The lighting in the photos isn’t great but it definitely an orangeish/reddish brown.
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If you can put a dent in it with your nail, it could be western red cedar.
Western red cedar could be a good bet. Possibly a fir. Almost certainly a softwood.
It looks to me like Douglas fir but I don’t know if furniture was made with that. Some moulding and doors I have redone look a lot like your pictures and they were d fir
Looks like pine to me. Those old growth woods are often pretty when refinished.
Pine is cheap because it grows fast. It is a very underrated wood and can make some beautiful furniture. But it is also very soft so a desktop may need some sort of hardening finish or you will have dents and dings in time with use.
Agree is a softwood. I'm thinking cedar is more likely than pine. Cedar has a distinctive smell when worked and is very light and soft.
+1 for pine.
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