Expert: Eileen Cronk - 1/11/2007

Question
Thank you so much for your very interesting observations! I'm pretty sure it has some sort of vaneer on the top and sides. I haven't gotten it all sanded down yet, so it's hard to tell much about it at this point.  The legs seem to be solid wood, but I can't tell yet what kind.  I'd really be interested in knowing more about the birdseye maple.  I've never heard of that.  Is there a way I could find pictures of it?  I am having a blast doing this kind of work; I get very absorbed in what I'm doing and can work for hours at a time. Messy but fun for me!  Thank you so much for your time and help.
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I am just beginning to get interested in refinishing wood; I seem to have a natural ability I didn't know I had.  I recently bought a couple of small tables that were painted and decorated obviously from the '50's. They are very plain and simple, straight legs with two shallow drawers and no carvings or decorative work.  However, when the old paint and varnish came off, I couldn't tell what kind of wood it was.  When you knock on it, it has a definite hard wooden tone, but the wood grain is like tiny specks similar to an apostrophe! It also looks like a veneer of some sort, but just hard.  I suspect the tables are actually from a much earlier time than the '50's, but I would really like to be able to find out what the wood actually is.  It's not at all like pine or oak.  What would you guess?  Thanks a lot!
-----Answer-----
Hi Janis
Nice to hear from you.
How wonderful that you like doing this work.
Not many people do. Its time consuming and messy as you know.
OK..you asked for just a guess so I'll give you one.
And please remember Janis I can only guess from the woods I know or have worked with.
There are lots I have no knowledge of.
Its possible you could have birds eye maple wood in these tables.
You obviously know oak and pine so we rule them out.
I also rule out walnut, mahogany, cherry, poplar, birch or fruit woods. And remember I only speak of the wood I am familiar with and in the normal form I am familiar with.
And I would think a table made from birds eye maple would probably be veneer.
I run accross this veneer on occasion, but have never been lucky enough to get a solid birds eye maple anything LOL...hardly ever a veneered one either.
But I think someone who has a good knowledge of woods should look for you before its declaired "birds eye maple" LOL..I could be totally wrong without seeing it.
Let me know if you get a positive ID.
Thanks for a great question.
Eileen


Answer
Hi Janis
I thought of you when I found this awesome wood site.
Actually it had been in my bookmark column for a long time and I had forgotten I had it.
http://www.woodworking.org/WC/woodsampler.html
The pictures of the wood samples are some of the best on the internet.
Theres a pile of them including the birds eye maple.
Enjoy
Eileen
Hi again Janis
Wonderful to see someone so enthused.
Here are some pics of birds eye maple.
Perhaps you never knew that you can just get pictures of most anything you want with a google search.
Simple go to Google, type in birds eye maple...or whatever, then at the top of the page you will see the word "images". Click on that.
Heres what I got
http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=birds+eye+maple&btnG=Search+Images
You will notice that most every wood sample is different.
Just remember that every tree is different even if its the same species.
Oh yes, apparently the birds eye in the maple, is caused from some growth factor or such and is commonly not found in maple trees.
Keep up the interest
Regards
And if this was helpful, please give me a good rating.
Eileen