Wood identification help - antique stool

[Rob_H]

Still struggling to be definite about some of my antiques - I initially thought elm but I now think it's oak (with ash legs). Second opinions please - 19th century stool.

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[BradNaylor]

Dunno about the wood but if one of us made that and posted it on the projects forum everyone would think it was a piece of junk...








...and they'd be right!

:wink:

Brad

 

[Rob_H]

Well, it's an late 18th century/early 19th century pile of junk then - about £150-£200. No accounting for taste!! Not everything has to be made from MDF, Brad

 

[wizer]

Looks like something Mr_Grimsdale would make :lol:

 

[woodbloke]

Looks like something Mr_Grimsdale would make :lol:

Looks too good for a Grimsdale piece - Rob

 

[Evergreen]

Rob H

The way the grain on the seat has worn over the years suggests a softwood to me. Pitch pine, maybe?

 

[matt]

Nice milking stool. They normally sell somewhere between £45-£60 - why is this one so expensive?

 

[Rob_H]

It's not a milking stool as they traditionally have three legs. It's a west country stool. I suppose it depends where you're selling, but 19th c milking stools tend to go for over 100 - unless. of course, you're buying and selling on Ebay.

 

[big soft moose]

shows what i know - i would have put it through the bandsaw - possibly recycled the top and put the legs in the firewood pile

 

[Rob_H]

Pitch pine crossed my mind but it's very heavy. Traditionally they were oak or elm so pitch pine but be unusual - but not impossible. Anyone else can help with ID?

 

[lurker]

Well, it's an late 18th century/early 19th century pile of junk then - about £150-£200. No accounting for taste!! Not everything has to be made from MDF, Brad

I'd be inclined to agree with Brad.

Also how the hell can you date it??

I reckon I could run one of those up tomorrow, distress it a bit & you would not be able to tell the difference.

Manky old bit of poor quality pine, knocked up by a farm hand one wet evening IMHO.

 

[matt]

It's not a milking stool as they traditionally have three legs. It's a west country stool. I suppose it depends where you're selling, but 19th c milking stools tend to go for over 100 - unless. of course, you're buying and selling on Ebay.

West Country milking stool?

I thought, with Antiques, you're not "buying and selling" unless you're at eBay prices? If you're not then you're just "investing"?

 

[Rob_H]

It's dated how any furniture is dated - through style, how it's made, experience etc. I wasn't asking for any opinion on whether this was junk or not, I was simply asking for advice on what wood it was as it has me stumped. Whether you, or Brad think it junk is irrelevant. If you don't want to help that's fine. the forum is normally a helpful place where people usually pitch in with advice and suggestions. It doesn't have to descend into insults.

 

[Jenx]

You know what wouldn't shock me ? ... ASH.

Its got that 'ring-porosity' look that Ash displays more than any other.. with possibly something to darken it having been added ?


I kinda 'get' it ... if the dates are genuine etc... thats like 'somewhere about 1800 - 1815, which will mean its seen a lot of buttocks !... each pair with their own history... and I kinda 'get it' for its 'story-retaining' reasons.
Sometimes its not all 'visual' eh :wink:

 

[Rob_H]

It's not a milking stool as they traditionally have three legs. It's a west country stool. I suppose it depends where you're selling, but 19th c milking stools tend to go for over 100 - unless. of course, you're buying and selling on Ebay.

West Country milking stool?

I thought, with Antiques, you're not "buying and selling" unless you're at eBay prices? If you're not then you're just "investing"?

Matt - what I meant was you can get more, generally for antiques if you don't sell on Ebay. That's why antique shops prices tend to be higher than Ebay. the risk with Ebay is you can't examine the piece so you're generally taking a risk.

 

[matt]

It's not a milking stool as they traditionally have three legs. It's a west country stool. I suppose it depends where you're selling, but 19th c milking stools tend to go for over 100 - unless. of course, you're buying and selling on Ebay.

West Country milking stool?

I thought, with Antiques, you're not "buying and selling" unless you're at eBay prices? If you're not then you're just "investing"?

Matt - what I meant was you can get more, generally for antiques if you don't sell on Ebay. That's why antique shops prices tend to be higher than Ebay. the risk with Ebay is you can't examine the piece so you're generally taking a risk.

Sorry, I was not trying to be argumentative. My mother was an antique dealer before retiring just as the bottom fell out of the market - largely because too many people value things according to eBay.

 

[Rob_H]

You know what wouldn't shock me ? ... ASH.

Its got that 'ring-porosity' look that Ash displays more than any other.. with possibly something to darken it having been added ?


I kinda 'get' it ... if the dates are genuine etc... thats like 'somewhere about 1800 - 1815, which will mean its seen a lot of buttocks !... each pair with their own history... and I kinda 'get it' for its 'story-retaining' reasons.
Sometimes its not all 'visual' eh :wink:

Any dating is subjective, based on experience, handling pieces etc. I'm fairly confident the date is about right on this one. I was actually told it was an 18th century lacemaker's stool when I bought it, but it seems much more like a west country stool. Again, nothing is for certain.

 

[wizer]

Ash was my first thought BTW

 

[Rob_H]

Matt, my post wasn't aimed at you but Lurker - our posts cross. You are completely right about Ebay and what it has done for values. I try to avoid it unless I know it's exactly what I'm looking for and I can examine it before the end of the sale.

 

[lurker]

It's dated how any furniture is dated - through style, how it's made, experience etc. I wasn't asking for any opinion on whether this was junk or not, I was simply asking for advice on what wood it was as it has me stumped. Whether you, or Brad think it junk is irrelevant. If you don't want to help that's fine. the forum is normally a helpful place where people usually pitch in with advice and suggestions. It doesn't have to descend into insults.

Well, I'm sorry you were offended - I DID say IMHO & I thought this was chat & not questions & answers.
I have some old pitch pine boards and have created a virtually identical look to the top using a wire wheel in a drill.

Style can be copied. Its unlikely to be older than when a particular style became popular, but since then is could be any age.

The legs IMHO (maybe its the photo) look too perfect for it to be any great age.