Sorry, another wood ID thread.

[mrpercysnodgrass]

I would say Ash too but not totally convinced. Ash was not used much in furniture making except up in Scotland where they used it for drawer linings.

 

[Gavlar]

Thanks for the ash ideas. To be clear when I said 'old' brown furniture it probably was no older than 1980s. (Side note: the chairs had machine made embroidered back panels so it deserved breaking up). No idea whether age has a bearing on species of timber I couldn't say...

 

[isaac3d]

Thanks for the ash ideas. To be clear when I said 'old' brown furniture it probably was no older than 1980s. (Side note: the chairs had machine made embroidered back panels so it deserved breaking up). No idea whether age has a bearing on species of timber I couldn't say...

LOL... embroidered panels... indeed

Some timbers darken considerably over time with exposure to air, but I don't know about ash

 

[Gavlar]

Some timbers darken considerably over time

This was stained with Jacobean Old Oak or some such dark brown colour. Silky smooth if it planes well, like the surface of the moon if it doesn't.

 

[isaac3d]

Sounds like you've got some interesting grain patterns going on. Maybe scraping with a cabinet (or card) scraper would help in the tough areas.
As to the colour, I'm a bit of a purist here and I don't like the idea of artificially colouring wood much; if wood has a light colour, then enjoy it, if the wood has a dark colour then enjoy that! However, other opinions are available

 

[NickDReed]

Many thanks all for your insight.

Having read up a little on meranti I'd guess it was that based on how easy it is to work.