Identifying found wood

[jrc127]

I found some pieces in my tonewood stack that I failed to label when I got them ten years ago or so. The lighter colored one on the left is about an ounce or two heavier than the other one and you can see nice cat's eye effect in that one. I think it may be maple of some kind. The piece on the right looks like mahogany to me but I'm not sure. Thoughts?

[Kevin Sjostrand]

James
To me the one on the left does look like maple
On the right some type of acacia....possibly Koa
My guesses

[jrc127]

I wasn't familiar with koa. but after looking at images on online, I think you are right.

[jstanard]

My first thought for the board on the right was cherry but I think your board is actually American Sycamore heartwood. The strong ray fleck on the light sapwood at the very edge of the board is kind of a giveaway. I don't disagree with Maple as a possibility for the left board but consider that it could also be American Sycamore sapwood that is not well quartered so the ray fleck isn't prominent.

I just finished a guitar made from mystery boards I bought in a woodworker's estate sale. The board I used for back and sides were easy enough to ID as sycamore but the neck wood looked exactly like your board on the right, except with no ray fleck to be found. I had ID'd it as cherry until I saw this picture. Now I think the board I used for the neck could have been sycamore heartwood (which would make sense since it came from the same pile).

IMG_9906.jpeg

[Diane Kauffmds]

Looks like cherry to me.

[Diane Kauffmds]

Here's a photo of a cherry guitar that I made many years ago. If you look closely, you'll see the color variations that look like your wood. You can see from the sides that cherry can have crazy grain.

[jrc127]

I have a several pieces of cherry and the one on the left is significantly different in grain and color from any of those peices. I really like the look of the three piece back. I might try something like that on a future build.

[scamp]

I have found that calculating the density of the piece is very helpful many time narrowing down what type of wood it is.