What is this wood?

[timothyedoran]

I salvaged this wood from a pallet and would love to know what it is. Its a hardwood, that is quite pink in colour and I would say its similar to the colour of my flesh. The grain is a little bit crazy, breaking out in several directions.



wood in question in the middle. Sapele/mahogany at the top, pine at the bottom.


Thanks in advance

 

[Woodbloke]

Without being too churlish about it, there are around 30,000 different varieties of timber (give or take a few thousand) on the face of the planet and there are only two guaranteed ways to identify a species. The first is by an expert analysis of a microscopic end grain slice and the second is again by an expert, botanical analysis of the twig and leaf structure of the actual tree. Anything else is pure guesswork but if it's pink it could be Pink Ivory but I very much doubt it; there are only roughly another 29,999 timbers it could be :lol: - Rob

 

[timothyedoran]

Thanks Woodbloke, that is a fair response. When my 9 year old asks what type of wood something is, I always say its tree wood.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Ygiagam.

 

[Mike Jordan]

I’m 100% certain I know what it is - it’s firewood. Regrettably you are not supposed to burn pallet wood Anymore than you should be attempting to fashion it into fine woodwork.
Some pallets are treated with chemicals to deter pests and it would be foolish to inhale the dust or produce polluted smoke. It’s similar to claims that old roofing timbers are much better quality than new, clean, good quality material. It’s tight fisted dangerous nonsense.

 

[Mike G]

........ It’s similar to claims that old roofing timbers are much better quality than new, clean, good quality material. It’s tight fisted dangerous nonsense.

Ooooh, careful. They can be much higher quality. They're often rubbish, but they can be wonderful. Caveat emptor. Like most things in woodwork and building, you need to know what you're doing!

 

[Mike G]

I salvaged this wood from a pallet and would love to know what it is.....

No idea.

I tell you what I would do. I'd plane it, and rub some white spirit on it. If that gave an attractive look (and the wood was straight enough and defect free), I'd set it on one side and use it on a suitable indoor project in due course. No way would I ever use it externally, because there is no way of knowing what it is, and therefore how durable it is.

If it wasn't particularly attractive, there are a thousand and one jobs that crop up where the odd bit of wood is necessary, without it having to be beautiful or durable. It might be a jig, or a shelf support, or a pattern, or a prop, or a drawer-runner, or a brace, or whatever...... If you've got storage room them don't chuck wood (inspect for insect damage, of course).

 

[Trevanion]

I'm not 100% certain what it is, which is always difficult to tell from photographs especially without an endgrain photo. My hunch would be that it's a South Asian timber, likely some form of Meranti.

 

[Mike Jordan]

Some years back a fellow woodworker salvaged a huge length of pitch pine about 400mm square from the top of an old mill building where it had been used to support some machinery. It cost a lot of money to crane it out and reduce it to usable sizes.
It was turned into second fix joinery of superb quality for a cottage refurb, I managed to scrounge a small quantity to make a meter cupboard for a friend.
I’m not against recycling quality materials but that generally rules out pallet wood and nail riddle roof timber.
I’ve never known anyone to specify high quality softwood for roofing unless the finished work is on display from inside.
I know of a local chap who insisted on using recycled roofing timbers for the roof of and extension, all was well until he moved house, the purchasers ( or more likely the building societies) surveyor insisted that the timbers be treated for infestation before the sale. I don’t know the cost but I’m pretty sure it exceeded any previous saving.