Wood species

[Norm Harris]

I am in the process of wooding my dog house, cockpit coaming and miscellaneous trim and I am finding that I am unsure of the species of woods that were used.

I thought that I had mostly mahogany that had many coats of varnish laid on, but as I am sanding I find that the flat grain is not as red as I had expected and the edge grain is sanding very dark. Almost like teak.

So, here are my questions:
1. Are there any good ways of telling the two woods apart?
2. When I thought that it was mahogany, I was going to undercoat it with Smith's CPES before varnishing. Should I consider the same if it is teak?
3. If it is teak, should I use one of the traditional varnishes or something that is advertised as being formulated for teak, such as Deksole (sp) 1 and 2?
4. I have some black locust cleats that were varnished. Is varnish the best coating for them or is there something else that will protect the locust with less work?

Okay, I guess that's enough to get the can of worms open. I welcome all responses

Norm

[wolfietuk]

I cant tell you without seeing it, but the woods are different. Mahogony is darker and more reddish brown. Get a piece of each. Sand it a little and compare them. Are you sure you sanded off all the old finish on the end grain.

Rick

[Norm Harris]

Rick,

I did indeed heat, scrape and sand until all the wood is spiffy clean. If I never see a heat gun and sander again I'll be a happy camper.

The reason that I questioned the species is that I was almost sure that it was mahogany when it had varnish. What got my attention was the color and oily feel of the long grain ( this is the edge of the board, not the end) when I began the finish sanding process.

I am more interested in ensuring that I apply the appropriate finish than any other reason for wanting to know what kind of wood I've got.

[Donn]

Here's a nice wood ID site:

http://www.woodworking.org/WC/woodsampler.html

[Bruce Hooke]

I haven't used CPES but based on all the reports I've seen it should be a good base for varnish on both teak and mahongany.

One other indicator of teak is the smell. "Useful Woods of the World" describes it as a leathery smell, which is probably a pretty good description. Also, mahogany has characteristic short dark ray lines on the flatsawn surface.

[ken mcclure]

A kind of interesting method for identifying wood. (http://courses.ncsu.edu/WPS202/aaJosh/Homepage.htm)

[Art Read]

Bruce is spot on... Sand it a bit. Any bare teak will leave an "oily" residue/dust and you WILL notice the leather smell. Mahagony will leave just a "dry" redish dust behind.

[Norm Harris]

Thanks all for the information. Donnwest and Ken, interesting sites that helped with the research. I finally did the ultimate test; I bought a small piece of teak and compared it to the existing. I am now sure that the species is teak.

Now, does anyone want to attack the question of "best" finish? I am leaning toward a traditional varnish over CPES as a sealer. If there are other favorite products out there I'd like to hear.

Lastly, How about protection and finish for the black locust cleats? They are in perfect condition after the 25 years that they have been varnished. So, that is what I will do again unless some one has a better idea.