Name this wood

[JimWoodwork1975]

The father in law has collected various timber on jobs over the years and I managed to prise some of this off him for my front door threshold. He thinks its oak, I say teak. Any ideas?

 

[sunnybob]

Not teak.
looks more like oak than anything else.

 

[JimWoodwork1975]

Oh don't let him be right lol

 

[sunnybob]

I'm 100% certain that youre wrong :roll: (hammer)
but only about 30% sure he's right =D>

 

[That would work]

No not teak. Afromosia perhaps

 

[Ttrees]

I have either afrormosia, or Burmese teak (I can't find a closer match) and it does not look like the stuff I have.
It doesn't look like any of the hardwoods nicknamed teak either.
What does the other face look like, maybe a freshly planed area to see the colour.
Any presence of medullary rays?
Some folks would want to see endgrain also.
Tom

 

[Trevanion]

That's an odd-looking one.

100% definitely not Oak.

Not 100% sure whether it's teak or not, If I could smell it I could tell you right away as it's not a totally pleasant smell, kind of like urine This is its rough foot trodden state right? it hasn't been planed at all yet?

Doesn't look much like anything else I've worked with either like Iroko or Keruing which are usually used for door cills and look a bit like Teak.

 

[thetyreman]

I can see why he'd think it is oak, but it looks too light for oak, no idea what it is.

 

[Mike Jordan]

My vote goes for Teak.

 

[That would work]

"Oak" furniture land?

 

[JimWoodwork1975]

It's got an old stain on the other side, this has just been cut not planed or sanded yet. The sunlight is making it look a bit more yellow than it is. I'll do an indoor photo, with end grain showing.

 

[Jonathan S]

Looks like one of those alternatives to teak, and very simular to one I pulled out of an indoor pool, can't for the life of me remember its name....not Ipe.....I was Brazilian.........errrrr brain just starting up..

Cumaru.

....again with all timber guessing games it's impossible to be 100%

Jonathan.

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

 

[Keith 66]

I would say teak, i have used quite a lot of it on boats & a lot looks just like that.

 

[sunnybob]

I have one thick plank of teak, left over from a 1960s office block stair. Its creamy and has almost no grain. it doesnt look anything like that plank. i stick with my opinion :lol: :lol:

 

[Trevanion]

I have one thick plank of teak, left over from a 1960s office block stair. Its creamy and has almost no grain. it doesnt look anything like that plank. i stick with my opinion :lol: :lol:

Are you sure that's 100% Teak? I've got some pieces of Burmese Teak passed down from my father who in turn got it off a boat-builder friend in the 70's which he was going to use for carving but never got around to it. I haven't got the pieces immediately on hand to take a picture of but I looks very much like this image I've borrowed off google:

I'm kind of at odds with the pieces to be honest, I know back then they were seriously exploiting the trees, elephants pumped up with amphetamines to make them work harder, and people etc to produce the material so it's kind of like blood diamonds in a way.

 

[sunnybob]

I was assured it was teak by the man who removed the staircase. I shall take some pics, but theres almost no grain, and its so creamy its almost like milk chocolate.

 

[Woodywright]

Well I was going to put up an almost identical post! I bought a load of window cills and bump rails from a bank being demolished in London and I think it looks much the same as this. I thought given the age of the building and the fact that teak was widely used in that era internally that it was teak. Last week I started to work it and i wasn't convinced it was teak. I took it to 4 different furniture makers and boat builderw and the opinion was split 50/50. On working it and looking it up on the internet images it suggested walnut. When cut it smells more like raw tobacco and not the smell of teak. I've added my images of a few random lengths. It varies in grain colour and figure but some of these look very similar to yours. I would be very interested in a definitive reply because it it is teak it would be very suitable for external use if walnut absolutely not.

 

[Trevanion]

Well I was going to put up an almost identical post! I bought a load of window cills and bump rails from a bank being demolished in London and I think it looks much the same as this. I thought given the age of the building and the fact that teak was widely used in that era internally that it was teak. Last week I started to work it and i wasn't convinced it was teak.

That's definitely Iroko, I've made enough doors and windows from it to know that for certain! :lol:

It's really nasty stuff to work with and is horrendous on the lungs, it's actually a sensitizer so it actually makes your reaction worse to it the longer you work with it. Dust masks are a must.

 

[JimWoodwork1975]

Well I was going to put up an almost identical post! I bought a load of window cills and bump rails from a bank being demolished in London and I think it looks much the same as this. I thought given the age of the building and the fact that teak was widely used in that era internally that it was teak. Last week I started to work it and i wasn't convinced it was teak. I took it to 4 different furniture makers and boat builderw and the opinion was split 50/50. On working it and looking it up on the internet images it suggested walnut. When cut it smells more like raw tobacco and not the smell of teak. I've added my images of a few random lengths. It varies in grain colour and figure but some of these look very similar to yours. I would be very interested in a definitive reply because it it is teak it would be very suitable for external use if walnut absolutely not.

The first photo looks similar. I haven't smelt it yet - I'm very new to all this, I didn't know the smell of timber was a thing!

 

[JimWoodwork1975]

The end grain as promised. As for the smell, very pleasant, sweet almost.

Photos don't really do the colour justice, it's got more of an orange hue*, the sawdust is very orange.

*right word??