LaughingCow

We have this old table that we have no room for anymore, so we're going to try and sell it to an antique dealer (it's apparenly really old). Not sure what kind of wood it's made of though.

We have to wait until next week for the guy who owns the place to get back so I figured I'd see if anyone here can tell, so I know what to tell the guy if he asks when I phone to see if he wants to look at it.

Fully opened:

[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TQAuA3IYt9RSTshe7aOjprlpgdJ5es1A5MItEBYEWyHqGJmvPpOhAa0RB*4VDOj79Ek4m!vs3G!hh8iArrQAUqKUE10MBUq0hX!BAqTTSiOkM0IqHmJ2cg/Fulltable.jpg?dc=4675431948621203557[/IMG]

Folded sides:



Close up of the wood:

[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TQAMA3gYFNZlZenY9FCwFdER6LqZshogef35BO1tW*LG9Q0x*vLC3VgkBSoiXJkXBeXa*svmVCTB!ITD84iK8V0RRYn5651KNLEYn8sar6YJdvyJYt8kkQ/Tablewood.jpg?dc=4675431948713020413[/IMG]


Not sure if these shots show the texture good enough for anyone to tell what type of wood it is, but if you can, let me know, thanks

JadziaDax

possibly Cherry, Mahogany, or Walnut.

I'm leaning towards Mahogany...

Cujo

Phew! Thank god. With that title I thought for sure it was gonna be pictures of his dick.

bermuDa

my guess is the same as jadz... though it's too red for walnut... I'm leaning closer to cherry.

__________________
I am the very model of a moderator gentleman.

eribrav

It most closely resembles cherry.

LaughingCow

, I'd have to get a new camera for that, no zoom on mine.


Thanks for the replies so far, I'm far from being wood savy and had no clue.

dim5

I'd have to agree -- it looks like cherry. Mahogany is a little darker. Depending on the stain, cherry can sometimes have a warmer (reder?) hue to it. The last picture looks a touch on the brown side, but just by looking at the first two, I'd say cherry.

Rodney

I vote for cherry. If you can show it to two different guys and get prices from both, do so.

Sion

it is definitely not cherry. cherry does not have the open grain that you can see in the third picture. it somewhat resembles oak in that picture, but I dont believe it's oak. could possibly be walnut, but the color suggests not. of course, if it is stained, then color isnt a good indicator. I'm not familiar with mahogany enough to say with certainty, but it wouldnt surprise me if it was mahogany. but its probably walnut.

__________________
He's the best, of course, of all the worst.
Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz

I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...

oblar

hmm, oh well I was proud of myself at first because I was going to say cherry and I figured I would be of no help, but after Sion's post I may be wrong..

it is a beautiful table whatever it is.

__________________
"All that we can do is just survive.
.All that we can do to help ourselves is stay alive." - Rush

Same Guy

i was thinking walnut except for the color...
maybe they used some funky red stain on it to make
it look more like cherry?

__________________
Thank you, come again.

Gebbinn

Sion is the closest yet. Its Oak. If you look at the table, the color is very blotchy. This indicates that the table has been stained (rather poorly as is evident in the last picture, note the dark blotch in the upper left.) and then laquered over. So all you have to go by is the grain of the wood. Now, looking again at the last picture, because it is the only one that shows the grain well enough to examine... The grain is not straight, but rather it curves and bends, and has wide gaps as well as very fine ones. This grain is typical of oak wood. The one that finally gave it away is the very upper left corner of the picture, how the wood has a funny pattern that doesnt follow the grain at all. this is something that happens very often with oak.

__________________
There are 10 types of people in this world... Those who understand Binary and those who dont.
I aim to please.. to bad for you I am a horrible shot.
Every time you open your mouth, stupid comes out.

LaughingCow

My mom got it about 30 years ago from someone used, so she doesn't know if it was stained or not, but I noticed a smear of dark coloured stuff that must have ran a bit underneath the table so my guess is that it's been stained.

I took another close up of the grain though to see if it helps any, maybe it will change any uncertainness:

[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0SQDPAugWfGGMcqY3bBpDRnsfav7d5nW3hEaYdO4rN26fk!9f6a3ozYYS4kAT3mxB28Z!xWs8VMnqZCQsfxZLw0M4QjQGH*3hCZuyXAP7UX!IAzMYMhy5aw/grain.jpg?dc=4675432034778867899[/IMG]



Thanks for all the input so far.

aedenji

I would have to guess cherry

cj2112

First before I say anything, let me say, that although I am a cabinet maker, and know my woods pretty well, what I say is strictly an opinion.

Having said that, it most closely resembles quilted maple, w/ a cherry stain on it. notice the figuring, the specks in the grain, and the fact that it is plain sawn. Oak generally has straight vertical markings between the grain, and if it has figuring it is typically not quilted as this piece is. Cherry resembles maple in some ways, but I would be very surprised if this turned out to be cherry. It's not walnut, it simply isn't dark enough, and the grain is all wrong for mahogany. A brief history of the piece would be helpful also. Where was it made? By who?

SuperMidget

I have to vote for maple. In the top picture it almost looks like it's taking on the bird's eye pattern that maple tends to acquire in ligther shadings.

I have to say though that the table looks like it has been refinished (and not very well by my standards but i'm just a perfectionist in the wood shop). that will probably cut the antique value down quit a bit.

LaughingCow

OK, lets see here now.


I think I'll rule out Cherry as it seems the votes for it were misled by the stain colour. Mahogany has a few somewhat uncertain votes, a couple for Walnut that were uncertain because of the colour, but that could be the stain again, and Maple followed by Oak have the strongest opinions going for them.

<end of show announcer> Who will win??? No one knows!!! (well actually I hope someone does, ) You'll just have keep tuning into the Great Wood Mystery to find out! </end of show announcer> (sorry not enough sleep )

Once again thanks for the opinions, I've learned a fair bit about wood from this thread so far

raeanna74

Would you be able to get any pics of the underside of the table if it isn't stained and finished underneath we could possible get a better idea of the raw wood's appearance.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

cliche

I was always under the impression that the birdseyes in maple were much smaller than that...?

__________________
I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones. -- John Cage (1912 - 1992)

jeenyus

i'd say oak.

Unknown Poster

Is the underside of the table finished? If not, it might help us determine what type of wood it is. In the last pic it looks like Mahogany to me.

teshadoh

Chairy! Get it? Actually I would say it's cherry.

Fire

also, how hard is the wood? can you dent it with a fingernail (in an unobtrusive spot) oak should be rock hard, walnut almost as hard, cherry softer... as far as i know.

__________________
Thought the harder, Heart the bolder,
Mood the more as our might lessens

bobw

probably cherry

m0ntyblack

That's definitely not cherry....I work in the furniture industry, but we usually only work with cherry, teak, and maple. It looks like a rosewood stain over maple or oak...


MB