Just stripped the varnish/poly off this antique dining room table and I am curious what type of wood this is. Pine?

I remember sometime this year this subject was covered deeply.
The author had various pallets he was making into something else.

"Yep, it's wood" comment reminded me of all that.

Oak

May be a type of oak, a low grade?

But my guess would be ash.

First pic is before everything was stripped off. Second pic is after it was sanded (poor lighting… it's actually lighter than in this pic. Third is a date that was written on the underside which I thought was cool.

Agrams, love your work, and agree that ash has one of the most identifiable odors. But to me, ash's odor is vile in my nose. Red oak too. Give me white oak anytime.

I dunno if red oak is a vile smell, but I'm highly susceptible to whatever odor it is. Can always smell if it's being cut up or split.

Spanish cedar sawdust gives me a metallic flavor in my mouth like cheap silverware.

Likewise on spanish cedar, sapele has an odd taste too.

To OnlyForNow, yeah, maybe red oak isn't vile...I think I just have bad memories from years (decades?) ago doing some crappy low paying difficult projects with it. Gives me that olfactory disgust.

Oh, I meant that it has a super distinct smell and sure taste; but it may be vile to you that's ok, it's very pungent.

cml08 said:

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First pic is before everything was stripped off. Second pic is after it was sanded (poor lighting… it's actually lighter than in this pic. Third is a date that was written on the underside which I thought was cool.

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Love the table. Where did you pick it up from?

tgivaughn said:

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I remember sometime this year this subject was covered deeply.
The author had various pallets he was making into something else.

"Yep, it's wood" comment reminded me of all that.

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that was me.. bench thread and yes, soul confirmed for me that it was indeed wood.

i missed the reply of someone taking a stab at IDs a few weeks later until now

We found it on Craigslist. Story behind it: the family that owned it bought it from an antique store in France and brought it over when they moved to Houston many years ago (so I was told).

We loved the character of the table and couldn't pass it up. I'm no woodworker but it's obvious this thing is old and so we liked the idea that it's had many a family gathering around it.

If it came from France, it is a wood species we are not used to seeing here in the states that much, especially if is it is that old. It looks like European Ash to me.

cml08 said:

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We found it on Craigslist. Story behind it: the family that owned it bought it from an antique store in France and brought it over when they moved to Houston many years ago (so I was told).

We loved the character of the table and couldn't pass it up. I'm no woodworker but it's obvious this thing is old and so we liked the idea that it's had many a family gathering around it.

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June 1528, man that is an old table.

one MEEN Ag said:

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June 1528, man that is an old table.

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So a few months before Cabeza de Vaca arrived in Tejas. Probably brought the table with him.

agrams said:

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I would go with ash given the lack of medullary rats in the areas of near quartersawn grain. (aka tiger striping in quartersawn oak).

Is it odd to say that if I could smell the wood I could ID it better? Ash has one of the most enjoyable smells when working with it.

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Late to the party, but that's how I passed Dr Bertand's wood ID test when I took ENTC 206. 'This one smells like pancakes, it has to be whatever... this one smells like that cedar chest at home...'