Help identifying wood

phillipsted

phillipsted

Joined
Oct 4, 2010
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I have reclaimed some wood from a 100+ year-old desk that was in pretty bad shape. I'm not sure of the origin of the piece, and I'm having trouble identifying the wood. It looks like the desk was re-finished with some sort of golden-toned lacquer sometime in the last 20-30 years. The distinguishing features of the desk's top are the prominent rays and flecks in the wood. They don't show up very well in these photos, but they are very prominent and widespread across the boards To my eye, it looks like either some sort of quartersawn oak, or possibly sycamore.

Any ideas? Thanks for your help!

TedP



 
The rays in white oak are really defined when quarter sawn.
 
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Nicely cut oak. Very common for office furniture ,usually clear finish. Save as much as you can.
 
Typical old office furniture was solid . I'll bet some of that stuff is still being made today.
 
:D

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mete said:
Typical old office furniture was solid . I'll bet some of that stuff is still being made today.
Click to expand...

Thanks for everyone's feedback! This is from a desk that was built for my Grandmother's family sometime pre-1900. It has been passed down through the family for years and hasn't been cared for - and is well past rescue. The legs and structural components (stretchers) are made from some other wood. But the desktop is made from thick (1.5") jointed solid wood boards. Beautiful stuff.

TedP
 
My dad made a solid wood white oak desk about 40 years ago when he was a high school shop teacher. The top is 1 1/2" thick, and the sides and drawers are 3/4" solid white oak as well. It weighs a ton, and has a matching chair in the same wood. I don't like oak personally, but it is a beautiful piece even though it is simple construction.
 
This is one I made out of oak
Filling the pores gives a nice and smooth surface.
Wich way you have the rays (tiger stripe / mirror) makes a big difference

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