Expert: Eileen Cronk - 8/3/2005

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i started stripping an old rocking chair and don't know what kind of wood it is. it is very hard has a reddish appearance. if you have more specific identifying questions please just ask.
Answer -
Hi Jiohn
Nice to hear from you.
From your description, your chair has been treated with a stain to give it the appearance of mahogeny wood.
This color is actually a dye.
The chair will probably be made of birch. In my experience this is usually the case as birch takes this stain so well.
This stain cannot be removed with paint stripper.
I usually finish such pieces with a colored laquer to cover the red which is very unattractive when stripped.
Hope this helps
Regards
Eileen
Eileen, the wood is very attractine stripped. It had varnish on top of white paint that lifted very well except the groves and press back were a little difficult. The reddish hue that I spoke of is lovely and I want to highlite that feature with a minwax oil finish. Could the wood be rosewood or cherry? The chair seems quite old, it has no nails, flat arms with turned end going all the way through the outside upright back support. The arms are wonderfully curved and the press back is a beautiful fancifull design. The supports under the seat are turned with about 5 grooves above and below each other.          thank you so much, John
Answer -
Hi again John
I doubt this press back rocker is cherry or rosewood, but without seeing it this is a guess of course.
The red color you describe is not seen in rosewood or cherry wood after it is stripped (at least I have never came across it.)
And if you answer the following question with a yes, then this chair has had the dye applied to it and the color you now see is not the true wood color but the dye that will not come off.
Heres the question...did your gloves, rags and even your finger tips turn red or dark pink when you were stripping this chair?
Also another test would be to go back to the chair again and wet a small area with stripper and rub the area with a paper towel...is it red or dark pink?
So get back to me on this John..I am very interested.
Regards
Eileen There was no tranfer of red to any of my stripping residue. The flat of the arms don't show any red and they were the easiest to to lift. They are quite light and lend towards birch.

Answer
Hi again John
Well the plot thickens LOL
So that leaves me wondering if your chair is mahogany which can certainly be reddish in color.
Once again I have never seen a press back rocker made from mahogeny, but I certainly have not seen everything in my life.
Press backs are usually made from ash, oak or birch or maple in some cases.
Perhaps this chair is not actually a press back rocker in the way I am thinking.
Any way I could get a photo?
My email is ecronk@sympatico.ca
Really curious now.
Regards
Eileen