FOR-136: Further Distinguishing Softwood Species

Terry Conners | Jan. 10, 2020 (New)

Recognizing that an unidentified sample is a resinous or non-resinous softwood, with either an abrupt or a gradual transition is a good start towards identifying an unknown specimen. The problem is that this information is rarely enough! Other characteristics need to be combined with that data. Some of the things to look out for include characteristic odors, the diameter of the tracheids, and the presence of storage cells. Sometimes the context or original location of the material can be helpful.

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FOR-137: Hardwood Growth Rings

Terry Conners | Jan. 10, 2020 (New)

As in softwoods, hardwood species identification is accomplished by looking at species-specific combinations of features. Almost all hardwood species (including all of those from North America) contain vessels which appear as holes (pores) on wood cross-sections; hardwood species without vessels are unlikely to be encountered in North America. Those species are more commonly found in the southern hemisphere and are rarely sold as commercial species.

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FOR-135: Softwood Growth Rings

Terry Conners | Jan. 10, 2020 (New)

Many softwoods look similar to the naked eye at first; the colors are often similar, maybe light-colored overlaid with tinges of yellow-brown or perhaps a slight pinkish cast. Even the weights of similarly-sized pieces (the densities) might seem similar. There are, however, differences in the wood structure that we can use to separate the various species. Two of the most important characteristics we look at are 1) the presence or absence of resin canals (as discussed previously) and 2) the appearance of the earlywood--latewood transition in annual growth rings.

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FOR-138: Wood Structure and Mechanical Performance are Related

Terry Conners | Jan. 10, 2020 (New)

There is a strong correlation between wood density and mechanical properties, and this is true for both softwood and hardwood species. Density and strength properties can vary even within species due to different growth conditions.

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FOR-126: Grain Patterns and Growth Rings

Terry Conners | Dec. 21, 2015 (New)

Frequently you need to be able to observe wood cells from a particular perspective, and you will need to know where to look for different features on your sample. It's also very helpful to develop a kind of "visual vocabulary" that will let you match a term with a corresponding mental image, and the information in this chapter will start you on your way.

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FOR-125: Distinguishing Softwoods from Hardwoods

Terry Conners | Dec. 21, 2015 (New)

Softwood and hardwood trees are made up of different types of cells. With just a little magnification, it's easy to see that softwood growth rings look different from hardwood growth rings. Additionally, growth rings don't look the same for all of the trees, and the growth ring appearance is one of the things we will look at to identify wood.

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FOR-123: Introduction to Wood Structure and Characteristics

Terry Conners | Dec. 21, 2015 (New)

Knowing how to identify unknown pieces of wood using a hand lens is the only skill you will need for most situations---and that's the purpose behind most of this manual. A section at the end about how to identify wood using a microscope is available should you want to develop your wood identification expertise.

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FOR-127: The First Separation of Softwood Species

Terry Conners | Dec. 21, 2015 (New)

Just making the separation between softwoods and hardwoods doesn't help much in identifying wood species; that would be sort of like identifying children by their hair color. Let's look at the next level of wood features that you need to be able to recognize.

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FOR-124: First Steps in Identifying Wood

Terry Conners | Dec. 21, 2015 (New)

Wood samples need to be identified for all sorts of reasons, and they come in all shapes, sizes and conditions. I've received samples that were sound, samples that were waterlogged, samples that were rotted or otherwise degraded, painted samples, furniture samples, even samples containing wood preservatives. Most of the samples I receive have a North American origin, but I also receive pieces from art museums and antique dealers that can originate from just about anywhere. This sometimes means that identifying the sample by a common name alone doesn't provide enough information.