Expert: Jamie Yocono - 6/10/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hi.  I have just bought a oak wood table with stainless steel legs.  However, the wood is not a light yellowish colour, but rather a grey overall colour with large dark grey discolouration around the "nodes".  How do I know if the wood is really oak or if the manufacturer has used teak or some other wood?

ANSWER: Jo-Anne,

The grain of Oak and Teak are quite different, so you should be able to tell tell the difference between them if you look at the grain patterns. The color isn't as big of a clue, as the wood could have been stained.

If you send me a picture of the piece (a close up of the grain), I will try to tell you if it's oak or teak. You can send the picture right through All-Experts.

Hope to be able to help you once I see that picture.

Jamie


____________
Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com






---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jamie

Thank you for the quick response!

I have attached 3 images - I hope this helps.

Thanks
JO-Anne

Answer
JO-Anne,

I only got one photo, not three, and it's a little difficult to tell the specie of the wood. But from the grain pattern, it does not look like either oak or teak. If I had to venture a guess, I might say it looks like either a sugar maple, which can have a gray-ish cast to it sometimes.

Another guess - I used to work quite a bit with gray elm. This grain looks very much like elm's grain, and the color is similar, too.

These only a guess, but I am pretty sure your piece is NOT oak or teak. There is a wood identification website you might try looking at. It's website is: http://www.wood-database.com/wood-identification/

You might search around there and see if something looks familiar to you.

Good luck, sorry I couldn't help you out as much as I would have liked to.

Jamie


____________
Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com