Does this look like alder?

martyb1 · January 21st, 2008, 07:24 AM

I have never worked with alder before
The guy at my local lumber store said he wasn't sure what this was but figured it was alder.What ever it is,this stuff is hard.Much harder than ash

Nice screwup with the router.I just filled it with some router shavings and glue.The binding will cover most of it
So you wood experts,do you think it's alder???

TELECASTERbstrd · January 21st, 2008, 07:51 AM

looks like spruce to me.

jwells393 · January 21st, 2008, 08:01 AM

Uh ...oh..........He's starting another one.

Looks like some sort of fir to me.

Ronkirn · January 21st, 2008, 08:27 AM

Nope .. ain't Alder..... I'm betting Fir.

Ron Kirn

mellecaster · January 21st, 2008, 10:36 AM

I'll go with Fir or Hemlock (which I kinda guess is a type, or cousin of Fir?)

tonewoods · January 21st, 2008, 11:38 AM

It's a conifer for sure and not alder...

It's also a conifer which displays bearclaw, so that leaves out some of the pines....

A good whiff would narrow it down quite a bit more....

jsntg · January 21st, 2008, 11:47 AM

Fir fur sure.

boris bubbanov · January 21st, 2008, 02:00 PM

Definitely not alder. (He says, looking at 2 one piece alder heart bodies)

What confuses me is, I can't think of any conifer harder than ash. Did it take longer to rout than ash with a good bit? How much does it weigh at present?

Beautiful wood there, congrats.

Bubbanov

telefunk · January 21st, 2008, 03:12 PM

Doesn't look like any Alder that I've used.

telex · January 21st, 2008, 03:57 PM

It looks to me like it grew really slowly, exept for a few years of a growth spurt.

Maybe douglass fir?

martyb1 · January 21st, 2008, 04:25 PM

It's not a real big deal what it is
It is going to get routed out and capped and yes it routed much harder than ash,with a brand new bit.
I just thought someone might be able to tell me.It does not have that smell of spruce/pine/fir and it is much heavier and it is definitely dry.The guy said it has been inside in the heat for about 3 years.

And yes Jack I am starting another one,but this one is different

tonewoods · January 21st, 2008, 04:39 PM

"It's not a real big deal what it is"

Well, paint sometimes has a hard time sticking to Hemlock...

"Fir fur sure."

See that pitch-pocket in the upper right waist on the top surface?? That ain't a fir-type pocket....
The bearclaw kinda screams "spruce" as well....

If I had to guess, I'd go with Sitka Spruce....

martyb1 · January 21st, 2008, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonewoods

"It's not a real big deal what it is"

Well, paint sometimes has a hard time sticking to Hemlock...

"Fir fur sure."

See that pitch-pocket in the upper right waist on the top surface?? That ain't a fir-type pocket....
The bearclaw kinda screams "spruce" as well....

If I had to guess, I'd go with Sitka Spruce....

I won't argue with anybody about it because I don't know what it is.I am just surprised how hard it is if it is spruce

The project it is going to be used on it will probably get sealed with some of this tinted to match the top

EM8800

Telemarkman · January 21st, 2008, 05:47 PM

Both spruce and fir are rather soft wood types - much softer than ash.

boris bubbanov · January 21st, 2008, 06:35 PM

Marty, the only other thing I can think of, especially since you had that lil blowout, is that this is first growth wood that was actually cut quite some time ago and has really aged and dried out a lot.

I have some pine I found stored in my attic, discovered after the storm when I gutted out my house, and this stuff is really really rock hard.

Bubbanov

Buckocaster51 · January 21st, 2008, 06:57 PM

Growth rings that close together for sure looks like old-growth stuff.

Back to the alder thing. I can't hear the difference between any woods...I love alder because of the way it machines and paints. Easy stuff for this guy to work with.

But I've never seen an alder tree. Don't even know if they exist. Could alder be the wood equivalent of North Atlantic White Fish?

Pete Galati · January 21st, 2008, 07:10 PM

Nice chunk of wood whatever it is. The grain is very straight like spruce, but I don't think spruce has that much color, and you seem to be ruling out spruce.

I have an alder body with very straight grain, but it's very different than that.

I don't see any knots.

What evergreen type trees have hard wood?

Brutalblues · January 21st, 2008, 07:14 PM

+1 for spruce Tight, straight grain pattern, kinda yellow. Alder is somewhere between that and the wider grain pattern of ash. Alder is supposed to be more reddish,too. I would be surprised if it was alder, but then I'm no expert.

tonewoods · January 22nd, 2008, 12:38 PM

"Growth rings that close together for sure looks like old-growth stuff."

Yep....
But see those wide bands of graining? That's "compression" wood, and it usually denotes a heavier wood.....
I've seen spruce that rivals hardwoods in the weight department.

"But I've never seen an alder tree. Don't even know if they exist."

I've got alders all over my place here on Orcas Island, Washington....
Here's a pic I just went and snapped. The tree that the rake is leaning against would make some nice one-piece Teles....

"What evergreen type trees have hard wood?"

Well, a lot of the conifers can produce hard and heavy wood....
I've milled redwood--which is usually known for it's lightweight and soft wood--that was as hard and heavy (and figured) as maple...

Yew wood and Tamarack are pretty robust....

And, there are a lot of "hardwoods" that are soft and light in weight. True Poplar comes to mind....

SEK_Hakuna · January 22nd, 2008, 02:54 PM

Of course, pictures are not like viewing the wood in person....

I believe it is Yellow Pine. I've used a bunch of it building houses in my lifetime and it is very hard to drive nails into, cut or shape. It is also very heavy.

Spruce wood is light and soft.

Fir is the general utility grade lumber used for roughing in houses these days. It too is very soft and light in weight.

Alder has a greenish tint at times. It is a medium density wood with a slight grain pattern. It is not good for stain and varnish but is attractive painted and is used for trimming out houses for such. And of course, Fender guitars.

tonewoods · January 22nd, 2008, 03:23 PM

"Of course, pictures are not like viewing the wood in person...."

Or smelling it...

"I believe it is Yellow Pine."

Does bearclaw occur in Yellow Pine?

shoretyus · January 22nd, 2008, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mellecaster

I'll go with Fir or Hemlock (which I kinda guess is a type, or cousin of Fir?)

Like on your 2be 4'er's Spruce balsam fir ?

http://www.massforest.com/images/Hem...ct%20Copy3.jpg

flyin' brian · January 22nd, 2008, 06:19 PM

Looks like way too much tight grain to be alder

SEK_Hakuna · January 22nd, 2008, 06:43 PM

Does bearclaw occur in Yellow Pine?

I have no idea what bear claw is.

Ronkirn · January 22nd, 2008, 10:35 PM

Alder looks kinda like tan-pink Poplar....not much of a grain at all... I've harvested tons of splinters off of Fir, doing remodeling around the house... whatcha got is Fir.... makes ly fingers hurt just looking at it.

Ron Kirn

tonewoods · January 23rd, 2008, 11:46 AM

"I have no idea what bear claw is."

It's a figuring that occurs in spruce and other conifers.
It's in the body in question, although not really strong....

Look just to the left of the center seam as viewed on the front surface in the very first pic posted, and you'll see bearclaw...

Also, look at the 2nd pic from the top--the one showing the endgrain...
You'll see something that looks like stitches interrupting the grain. Again, bearclaw...

It's my unde

January 21st, 2008, 07:24 AM	#1 (permalink)
martyb1 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Alberta,Canada Age: 44 Posts: 1,482 13 Photos	Does this look like alder? I have never worked with alder before The guy at my local lumber store said he wasn't sure what this was but figured it was alder.What ever it is,this stuff is hard.Much harder than ash Nice screwup with the router.I just filled it with some router shavings and glue.The binding will cover most of it So you wood experts,do you think it's alder??? __________________ Before throwing it out,make sure it's not 16x13x1.75

January 21st, 2008, 07:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
TELECASTERbstrd Tele-Holic Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Hill Country TEXAS Posts: 731	looks like spruce to me. __________________ Howdy Y'all, most of my stuff pertains to country music. my MySpace Music Hill Country Horseworks

January 21st, 2008, 08:01 AM	#3 (permalink)
jwells393 Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Albuquerque, USA Age: 64 Posts: 11,921 101 Photos	Uh ...oh..........He's starting another one. Looks like some sort of fir to me. __________________ Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" _ Guys - learn to disable the flash on your digital cameras.

January 21st, 2008, 08:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
Ronkirn Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Age: 62 Posts: 2,572	Nope .. ain't Alder..... I'm betting Fir. Ron Kirn __________________ Lord, give me a sense of humor. Give me the grace to see a joke, To get some humor out of life, and pass it on to other folks. The only thing necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing......

January 21st, 2008, 10:36 AM	#5 (permalink)
mellecaster Friend of Leo's Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 4,481 17 Photos	I'll go with Fir or Hemlock (which I kinda guess is a type, or cousin of Fir?) __________________ Let's Not Forget the Other 75% of The Tone Equation...It's Called an AMP

January 21st, 2008, 11:38 AM	#6 (permalink)
tonewoods Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Orcas Island, Washington Age: 57 Posts: 631 18 Photos	It's a conifer for sure and not alder... It's also a conifer which displays bearclaw, so that leaves out some of the pines.... A good whiff would narrow it down quite a bit more....

January 21st, 2008, 11:47 AM	#7 (permalink)
jsntg Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: san francisco Posts: 133	Fir fur sure.

January 21st, 2008, 02:00 PM	#8 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 7,682	Definitely not alder. (He says, looking at 2 one piece alder heart bodies) What confuses me is, I can't think of any conifer harder than ash. Did it take longer to rout than ash with a good bit? How much does it weigh at present? Beautiful wood there, congrats. Bubbanov

January 21st, 2008, 03:12 PM	#9 (permalink)
telefunk Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 241	Doesn't look like any Alder that I've used. __________________ "Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder"

January 21st, 2008, 03:57 PM	#10 (permalink)
telex Tele-Holic Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Hampshire, USA Age: 39 Posts: 520	It looks to me like it grew really slowly, exept for a few years of a growth spurt. Maybe douglass fir?

January 21st, 2008, 04:25 PM	#11 (permalink)
martyb1 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Alberta,Canada Age: 44 Posts: 1,482 13 Photos	It's not a real big deal what it is It is going to get routed out and capped and yes it routed much harder than ash,with a brand new bit. I just thought someone might be able to tell me.It does not have that smell of spruce/pine/fir and it is much heavier and it is definitely dry.The guy said it has been inside in the heat for about 3 years. And yes Jack I am starting another one,but this one is different __________________ Before throwing it out,make sure it's not 16x13x1.75

January 21st, 2008, 04:39 PM	#12 (permalink)
tonewoods Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Orcas Island, Washington Age: 57 Posts: 631 18 Photos	"It's not a real big deal what it is" Well, paint sometimes has a hard time sticking to Hemlock... "Fir fur sure." See that pitch-pocket in the upper right waist on the top surface?? That ain't a fir-type pocket.... The bearclaw kinda screams "spruce" as well.... If I had to guess, I'd go with Sitka Spruce....

January 21st, 2008, 05:47 PM	#14 (permalink)
Telemarkman Friend of Leo's Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Norway Age: 61 Posts: 4,408	Both spruce and fir are rather soft wood types - much softer than ash.

January 21st, 2008, 06:35 PM	#15 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 7,682	Marty, the only other thing I can think of, especially since you had that lil blowout, is that this is first growth wood that was actually cut quite some time ago and has really aged and dried out a lot. I have some pine I found stored in my attic, discovered after the storm when I gutted out my house, and this stuff is really really rock hard. Bubbanov

January 21st, 2008, 06:57 PM	#16 (permalink)
Buckocaster51 Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Iowa USA Age: 56 Posts: 5,207 1 Photos	Growth rings that close together for sure looks like old-growth stuff. Back to the alder thing. I can't hear the difference between any woods...I love alder because of the way it machines and paints. Easy stuff for this guy to work with. But I've never seen an alder tree. Don't even know if they exist. Could alder be the wood equivalent of North Atlantic White Fish? __________________ "If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all." - Thumper the Rabbit "An awfully lot of time can be wasted waiting for the right time." - Gunsmoke's Doc Adams

January 21st, 2008, 07:10 PM	#17 (permalink)
Pete Galati R.I.P. Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 8,104 2 Photos	Nice chunk of wood whatever it is. The grain is very straight like spruce, but I don't think spruce has that much color, and you seem to be ruling out spruce. I have an alder body with very straight grain, but it's very different than that. I don't see any knots. What evergreen type trees have hard wood?

January 21st, 2008, 07:14 PM	#18 (permalink)
Brutalblues Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 1,086	+1 for spruce Tight, straight grain pattern, kinda yellow. Alder is somewhere between that and the wider grain pattern of ash. Alder is supposed to be more reddish,too. I would be surprised if it was alder, but then I'm no expert.

January 22nd, 2008, 12:38 PM	#19 (permalink)
tonewoods Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Orcas Island, Washington Age: 57 Posts: 631 18 Photos	"Growth rings that close together for sure looks like old-growth stuff." Yep.... But see those wide bands of graining? That's "compression" wood, and it usually denotes a heavier wood..... I've seen spruce that rivals hardwoods in the weight department. "But I've never seen an alder tree. Don't even know if they exist." I've got alders all over my place here on Orcas Island, Washington.... Here's a pic I just went and snapped. The tree that the rake is leaning against would make some nice one-piece Teles.... "What evergreen type trees have hard wood?" Well, a lot of the conifers can produce hard and heavy wood.... I've milled redwood--which is usually known for it's lightweight and soft wood--that was as hard and heavy (and figured) as maple... Yew wood and Tamarack are pretty robust.... And, there are a lot of "hardwoods" that are soft and light in weight. True Poplar comes to mind....

January 22nd, 2008, 02:54 PM	#20 (permalink)
SEK_Hakuna Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Kansas Age: 51 Posts: 176 15 Photos	Of course, pictures are not like viewing the wood in person.... I believe it is Yellow Pine. I've used a bunch of it building houses in my lifetime and it is very hard to drive nails into, cut or shape. It is also very heavy. Spruce wood is light and soft. Fir is the general utility grade lumber used for roughing in houses these days. It too is very soft and light in weight. Alder has a greenish tint at times. It is a medium density wood with a slight grain pattern. It is not good for stain and varnish but is attractive painted and is used for trimming out houses for such. And of course, Fender guitars.

January 22nd, 2008, 03:23 PM	#21 (permalink)
tonewoods Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Orcas Island, Washington Age: 57 Posts: 631 18 Photos	"Of course, pictures are not like viewing the wood in person...." Or smelling it... "I believe it is Yellow Pine." Does bearclaw occur in Yellow Pine?

January 22nd, 2008, 06:19 PM	#23 (permalink)
flyin' brian NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Chicago & Ottawa Age: 61 Posts: 5	Looks like way too much tight grain to be alder

January 22nd, 2008, 06:43 PM	#24 (permalink)
SEK_Hakuna Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Kansas Age: 51 Posts: 176 15 Photos	Does bearclaw occur in Yellow Pine? I have no idea what bear claw is.

January 22nd, 2008, 10:35 PM	#25 (permalink)
Ronkirn Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Age: 62 Posts: 2,572	Alder looks kinda like tan-pink Poplar....not much of a grain at all... I've harvested tons of splinters off of Fir, doing remodeling around the house... whatcha got is Fir.... makes ly fingers hurt just looking at it. Ron Kirn __________________ Lord, give me a sense of humor. Give me the grace to see a joke, To get some humor out of life, and pass it on to other folks. The only thing necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing......