Whether you are restoring a piece of furniture made from an unfamiliar wood
or debating the authenticity of a particular board with a local lumberyard, a
knack for identifying a piece of lumber is a useful skill.Now here you may also
interested in balsa wood.
Of course, an entire branch of knowledge is devoted to wood science and
technology. Books have been written about the subject, careers have been founded
upon it, and universities offer courses and degrees devoted to it. Scientists
identify wood by first slicing off a thin sliver of a sample, then mounting it
on a slide and examining it under a microscope.
The practicing woodworker, however, who is more interested in sawing than in
science, can successfully identify most woods by methodically searching for a
few simple clues with the help of inexpensive equipment. Most of the tools you
need are illustrated. Your investigation should begin with the easily observable
properties of the sample.Examine and feel the surface; determine whether it is
oily or dry, dull or lustrous. Check its hardness by trying to dent the surface
with a fingernail. You may be able to tell with the naked eye whether a hardwood
is ring- or diffuseporous. These two types of hardwood are relatively easy to
tell apart when viewed with a hand lens. Note whether the texture of the wood is
coarse or smooth. If the sample has been recently cut, it may mrhazbzqb have a
recognizable odor. If it has been sufficiently dried, you may be able to
calculate its specific gravity.
Although these observations can help narrow down the choices, you will still
have to view a wood sample under magnification in order to hazard an educated
guess as to its species. The illustration shows the three ways that a sample can
be studied: transversely, radially or tangentially. Each method exposes a
different view of a sample's anatomical structure. The simplest view is the
transverse since it involves looking at the end grain of the sample. However, to
avoid a blurred view of crushed fibers, you must first shave the surface with a
razor blade or a well-sharpened knife. To get a tangential view of a sample, you
will need to make a clean cut along the growth rings of the wood. Making a
second cut at right angles to the first exposes a radial view.
Once you have observed and recorded the sample's properties and microscopic
details, you can compare the results with a printed key of wood species to
identify the wood.
Article resource: http://www.balsafactory.com/ .
