Garage sale finds

tryppyr

tryppyr

Joined
Feb 5, 2010
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Today two neighborhoods in the area had garage sales... and of course I was on a mission. Here are my finds:

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The antlers were taken and mounted in 1938. The inscription on the plaque says

Mule Deer
Shot by: George Corkery
Modoo County, California
September, 1938

The wood is particularly fascinating to me. It's a very heavy piece... feels like it's been stabilized, but I haven't tested it yet. Anyone have a clue what kind of wood it is? Here's a bigger image.

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- Greg
 
...so how much did ya pay?

that's the whole fun in garage sales...seeing what ya can get for how little...

nice rack...almost a shame to cut it up..



maybe cedar?
cut off a sliver and sniff it..
 
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I can't wait to find out what the wood is. I have a guess, but I'm not saying it. I'm no wood guru. Nice lookin piece though.
 
End grain is often difficult to to figure out unless you have a loupe and some samples to compare.

Some wood like the oaks or osage orange are pretty easy to distinguish, but others can be tricky.

I'm wondering if it's from some ornamental tree. Do you know if it's local or brought from somewhere else?
 
I cut and sanded a piece today... I get no scent of polymers, so I now assume the wood is just naturally dense, not stabilized. I wiped it down with Naphtha and revealed the grain, and it has a fair amount of chatoyance (assuming I understand that word). The bold variance of color is less visible after sanding, but I believe it will reappear boldly when oil is applied.
 
Well, I kinda thought it looked like a cross section of cedar. But, if the smell didn't jump out at you when you sanded it, I guess not.
 
Here are a few more pictures of a handle block I cut and sanded from the slab. Maybe this will help someone identify the wood.

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I've had one credible guess... Lignum Vitae (guiacum officional).

After reading up on it, the descriptions sound pretty close.

One additional clue... when sanding it gives off an unusual odor... one that I can only describe as being similar to faint stale urine.
 
tryppyr said:
I've had one credible guess... Lignum Vitae (guiacum officional).

After reading up on it, the descriptions sound pretty close.

One additional clue... when sanding it gives off an unusual odor... one that I can only describe as being similar to faint stale urine.
Click to expand...

odor????

how are you smelling odor with an appropriate mask on?????


seriously, not knowing what the wood is and how it's been treated I wouldn't dare grind without a mask

(I would agree with Lignum Vitae just from the pictures, but I've not seen a end grain piece that big before)
 
tryppyr said:
It does... like a stone. Thanks for the suggestion.

- Greg
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It should also ruin a couple 3 or 4 saw blades to get through that piece you cut.
I Worked with some a few years back. Looks kinda like what I had but my chunk weighed as much as a bowling ball. The Contractor's supply that ordered it for me got pissed after I asked them to cut it into half for me. Ruined 2 of their fancy cutoff saw blades LOL.
 
lignum vita turns green over time from oxidation. Unless you sanded this wood after you purchased it I would say it is something other than lignum vita. I relate the smell of working it to nutmeg. It smells a lot better than desert ironwood. as far as sinking is concerned, desert ironwood, snakewood, and many others sink also. It almost looks like desert ironwood with some sapwood left on the edge. I had a couple of logs that looked like that. Even the checking you see in the sanded areas. If I had smellavision I could tell you in a heartbeat. Sanding desert ironwood smells like wet dirty dog to me or possible what is left on the bottom of your shoe.
 
" unusual odor... one that I can only describe as being similar to faint stale urine."
Piss elm?
 
The wood looks like Mesquite to me. The description of the smell fits too. Try burning a little piece, if your neighbors come over to barbeque you'll know;)
 
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