ID old barn wood

[henry29]

I've been cleaning the wood on my old barn getting ready to paint it, and got to wondering what kind of wood it was.

I have no idea when this barn was built but a few old-timers around here say they remember it in the 40's.

The boards on the outside are 2"x8" and 2"x6".

Anyone have any idea what kind off wood it might be?

 

[henry29]

Anyone got any ideas?

 

[turbowoodworker]

What kind of trees are on the property or nearby? They are likely local cut and probably mixed types throughout the build.

 

[M17715]

It looks like red oak.

 

[nehog]

Does look like Oak to me as well. But just a picture makes it very hard to be sure. If you have a sample bit try taking it to a local university biology or similar department and ask them if they can identify it. Or a forestry office can help too...

 

[Gary S]

It looks like basic softwood to me. Pine, spruce, fir, or whatever was available. You should be able to easily tell by picking up a piece. Soft woods weigh a lot less than hardwood.

 

[dbocha01]

looks dense without too many knots, and rougher looking then soft pine, and based on your location, I would dare to guess that it is locust

 

[marty_p]

It looks like basic softwood to me. Pine, spruce, fir, or whatever was available. You should be able to easily tell by picking up a piece. Soft woods weigh a lot less than hardwood.

I agree with Gary because of the knots and wide growth rings. I would personally remove a board, sand or plane it, and then bring it to a (hopefully) area lumber yard or hardware store for an accurate identification from some veterans in the business. They could then recommend a proper prep and proper sealer/paint/stain/etc. to your liking.

That's my 2¢ worth, and good luck with your project!

 

[draglink]

It looks like basic softwood to me. Pine, spruce, fir, or whatever was available. You should be able to easily tell by picking up a piece. Soft woods weigh a lot less than hardwood.

I agree, don't think its any kind of oak or hardwood. The grain just doesn't look right or tight enough. My home and out buildings are 150+ years old. They are a mix of everything. They usually milled what was on site or in the area. A lot of my house timber is Honey Locust. I talked to the electrician who upgraded my wiring back in the 90s. He said it was a MFer to drill through the studs to run wire. Kept having to dip his drill bits in kerosene to keep it lubed!

 

[BFBOB]

It would be helpful to see some end grain. The great hardwood/softwood division is often determined with a thumbnail. Ordinary pine (even the relatively hard southern yellow pine) can be easily dented with your thumbnail; you can scribe a line. Oak, you can't. About all I can say with reasonable certainty from your pictures is it is not poplar or birch.
If you have a small free piece you can check the density. Oak is dense enough that it will barely float in water. Some will even sink when green. So, float a piece and make a note of the % that's above water. Repeat with a piece of known modern 2x4. If the % above water is substantially different, you've got a big clue.
Good luck--even the experts (which I'm not) have a hard time positively identifying wood just by looking.

 

[Milton Shaw]

A lot of those old barns were built with Chestnut, which is no longer available due to the blight that killed all of the in the early 1900's. The wood might be worth reclaiming if its Chestnut as it's very rare and makes good looking furniture. Check with local college forestry department and see if they can identify.

 

[henry29]

Thanks for the help.

The boards are extremely heavy, and nearly impossible to drive a nail in.
The grain is actually really close together, nothing at all like regular 2x4's.

 

[henry29]

Here's some of the wood in the barn 2x12's and 8x8 post.

 

[bullnerd]

Dont know what its called but I love makin stuff out of it.

I grab it whenever I can.

Heres a medicine cabinet in my kitchen made from the same old boards.

We call it chestnut or pumpkin pine?

 

[SteveCh]

Thanks for the help.

The boards are extremely heavy, and nearly impossible to drive a nail in.
The grain is actually really close together, nothing at all like regular 2x4's.

Almost certainly not a softwood. I have a bunch of it around here, old boards I used to side my wood shed, etc. Old, old pine/spruce/etc. is quite light in weight and very easy to drill, sand, nail, etc. Almost too easy. That wood there does "look" like pine I have, but it must be something much harder. Whatever, it is beautiful stuff. Around here, people will sometimes steal it, going so far as to take a crowbar to it and rip it right off a building. Most of the old, abandoned mine sites, a tourist attraction to some, have been stripped of their old wood over the past thirty or forty years.

 

[henry29]

There are a lot of elm and maple trees around here.

You can't really see it to well in the pics but it has a slight red color to it.

 

[dogmir]

I am no expert, that said I agree locust is a possibility. To me the grain looks right, and color is close enough. Not to mention it is pretty sturdy stuff.

https://www.google.com/search?q=honey+locust&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.48705608,d.dmg&biw=1920&bih=938&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=CBTfUdLeBvKvygH7n4GIBw#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=honey+locust+lumber&oq=honey+locust+lum&gs_l=img.3.0.0j0i24l2.11250.12156.0.13148.4.4.0.0.0.0.166.444.3j1.4.0.chm_pq_signedout%2Chmss2%3Dfalse%2Chmmql%3D2...0...1.1.19.img.FJ1khXYqvOg&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.48705608,d.aWc&fp=35a632abe063f7b8&biw=1920&bih=938&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=L9TIanAh7dh7RM%3A%3B6QXKMgFSoMWDoM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.cswoods.com%252Fgraphics%252FInventory%252Fphoto_600px%252F0007747-1.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.cswoods.com%252Fcsw_speciesdetail.php%253Fpacknumber%253D0007747%3B600%3B450

 

[Cemoto]

My first thought was cypress, but locust is a good possibility.

I once had some Adirondack chairs made from cypress and it looked just like that.

Not red oak, not pine.

 

[henry29]

Here's a couple more pics that might help,

 

[d.mcfarland]

The grain is similar to red oak, but I'm not convinced that's what it is.

Any chance you have a scrap piece you could sand very smooth?

 

[Texican]

It looks an awful lot like red elm to me. If it fuzzes up when working it, that is a good indicator of elm wood.

 

[mitusa]

Ash
















Ash?

 

[henry29]

There are a lot of elm trees around here.
Is elm very hard and very heavy?

 

[jake00]

If you could sand a few lf It'd be easier to identify

 

[bullnerd]

looks just like the boards I started with to make the medicine cabinet.

I'll see if I can get a pic of the leftovers.

 

[pantera1]

White Oak

Very heavy,strong, tight grained, weather resistant wood.

It also shines up real nice, like your medicine cabinet shows.

 

[jims09build]

My vote is Hemlock. When first cut it is soft like pine and the older it gets the harder it gets. My parents built a home in the late 40s and in the 60s when I was a teenager I remember trying to pound nails in the floor joice in the basement to hang muskrat pelts and had a hard time because the nails kept bending. I asked my dad why and he said they were hemlock. Yep, that's my vote.

Jim in Pa

 

[ZRX61]

Well I'm glad that mystery is cleared up

 

[henry29]

I got all of the front cleaned and stained.
I couldn't get any of it sanded smooth, my electric sander was to weak and it was way to hard to sand by hand.

A couple people I know that do a lot of wood work looked at it and said they really thought it was oak.

 

[mburgett]

My vote goes for locust (we also call it white wood)

 

[PKAero]

You could get a fresh splinter and burn it. The odor can help ID some species. Locus has a very offensive odor.

 

[Engineer61]

Don't know what wood that is, but to answer the question about Elm - yes it's hard & heavy. A favorite wood to make hubs for wooden wheels as it didn't shrink very much when drying so didn't crack, is very strong and wore well if properly greased.

 

[HAY YOU]

My vote is Hemlock. When first cut it is soft like pine and the older it gets the harder it gets. My parents built a home in the late 40s and in the 60s when I was a teenager I remember trying to pound nails in the floor joice in the basement to hang muskrat pelts and had a hard time because the nails kept bending. I asked my dad why and he said they were hemlock. Yep, that's my vote.

Jim in Pa

+1 Hemlock

 

[henry29]

I'm not sure if I've ever seen a Hemlock tree are they in Southwest Indiana?

 

[HAY YOU]

I'm from northern Ind. & have a Dairy bar & to hear the stories all of Ind. was covered in Hemlock at one time. Nice barn.