Wood ID?

[mbaisley]

Anyone have any idea what kind of wood this is? The pictures don't do it justice. It has a "sheen" to it and it looks purple-ish if the light is right.

I am inclined to think it is walnut, but it smells so good when you split it.

This is in East Tennessee - Knoxville area.

Thanks.

 

[ATH]

Sure looks like walnut to me.

 

[lone wolf]

Sure looks like walnut to me.

Yup

 

[Raintree]

Sassafras

 

[mbaisley]

Ok now I'm really stumped (pardon the pun).

Most folks have said black walnut. I had one guy say he thought it was red elm. But this is the first time I've heard sassafras...I looked up some pics of black sassafras and that might be a possibility. Did you mention sassafras because of the "sheen" it has to it?

Unfortunately I have no other clues to go by. Its from someone else's property and the tree had apparently been standing dead on the stump for years before it came down. No leaves to check and no adjacent trees either. Very little bark on it and what was left was so deteriorated it wouldn't tell you much.

The color and the sheen and the smell are the main clues. I wish I could describe the smell but it's hard to translate into words.

 

[ATH]

Walnut and Sassafras each have VERY distinct and different smells. If I had to describe them...walnut, "musty" (but not quite) while sassafras is more..."spicy" (but that is not right either).

Any patch of bark can help. If you shave just a little of the outer bark off, Sassafras will be orangish while walnut will be chocolate colored.

Finally, the end grain is quite different. Walnut is diffuse porous while sassafras is ring porous. You can see the difference if you make a clean cut with a sharp miter saw, table saw, or bandsaw blade

https://www.wood-database.com/sassafras/wood-database.com/black-walnut/

Part of the reason I think walnut over sassafras is because ring porous woods have more pronounced grain.

 

[lone wolf]

Ok now I'm really stumped (pardon the pun).

Most folks have said black walnut. I had one guy say he thought it was red elm. But this is the first time I've heard sassafras...I looked up some pics of black sassafras and that might be a possibility. Did you mention sassafras because of the "sheen" it has to it?

Unfortunately I have no other clues to go by. Its from someone else's property and the tree had apparently been standing dead on the stump for years before it came down. No leaves to check and no adjacent trees either. Very little bark on it and what was left was so deteriorated it wouldn't tell you much.

The color and the sheen and the smell are the main clues. I wish I could describe the smell but it's hard to translate into words.

My take on it Walnut smells like Olives, Sass smells like Birch Beer as near as I can descibe ,also this is when fresh cut. Walnut is heavier than Sassafras. Sass is more Orange in color that looks lie Walnut. Get more pics any bark?

 

[cuinrearview]

Sassafras smells like licorice

 

[lone wolf]

Sassafras smells like licorice

Or something sweet yes .

 

[Ikeholt]

Chambered pith is visible on a couple of those splits, so no doubt it's Walnut.

 

[lone wolf]

Chambered pith is visible on a couple of those splits, so no doubt it's Walnut.

That's right.

 

[ATH]

Chambered pith is visible on a couple of those splits, so no doubt it's Walnut.

Good catch @Ikeholt - I didn't catch that a first look, but it really shows up in those first pics.

 

[mbaisley]

This is fascinating and I'm super impressed with all of the knowledge you guys are sharing here. Thank you.

I'll post a few more pics in case they help any. I'll post some pics of the rounds and then some fresh split pieces. This has been a fun mystery to try to solve.

 

[mbaisley]

Here are some pics of the rounds when they were a little "fresher." Although I think this tree had been dead for a long time.
You'll notice that the reddish / darker color is not apparent on the fresh cut ends. This was one of the reasons why I was so stunned when I split it open and saw that beautiful color.

I would add that this wood seems like it might be lighter (weight wise) than walnut.

 

[mbaisley]

And then here are pieces from those same rounds right after I split them.

 

[mbaisley]

For comparison's sake, here are some side by side pics of the "mystery wood" along with some cedar, black cherry and white oak.

 

[mbaisley]

And finally here are some pictures of some rounds that were on the ground a little while longer than the fresher ones pictured above.

There's a little cedar at the bottom of the pile in a couple of the pictures.

One of the reasons this is so interesting to me is that I've gotten different answers from several different knowledge people. The 3 people who have seen it and touched and and smelled it were all wood guys. One makes cabinets, one does hardwood flooring and the other cuts trees. Their answers were: (1) guessed walnut but noted it seemed lighter and smelled different; (2) red elm or possibly "purpleheart" which I don't think is native to East TN so I didn't give that answer much weight; and (3) probably walnut but he wasn't 100% certain - again because of the weight and smell but also because of the sheen to it.

 

[Raintree]

Butternut

 

[lone wolf]

Butternut

Too dark.

 

[Raintree]

If it has a chambered pith, (I can't see very well on the phone, thought it was an insect channel) OP states light weight wood, that narrows it down to Buttnut.
Only thing unexplained is the strange smell.