Wood Patterns

WOOD IDENTIFICATION KEYS

Correctly identifying an unfamiliar wood sample out of thousands of possibilities requires close observation, and a thorough knowledge of wood and its properties. But as a practical matter, the possible choices are usually limited to several familiar species, and a commercially available set of labeled wood samples may include a piece that matches the wood you are attempting to identify. Most often, however, you will need to record the features of a sample, then use a wood identification key from a book to make sense of your results.

An identification key is essentially a master list of woods and their properties that serves as a cross-reference to link the features of a particular sample to a species name. Some keys require that you compare their entries against features that are visible to the naked eye or with a 10x magnifier, while others demand that you note microscopic details. Still other keys are based on the user having wide-ranging sensory information about the wood, including its color odor and texture, and the bark and leaf shape of the tree from which it came.

Using a key is like climbing the branches of a tree. You are asked to answer a series of paired statements, choosing the one that best describes the wood in question and proceeding to the next pair indicated. At each statement, the user forks onto a different branch until reaching a leaf that identifies the sample. The first statement may involve the texture of the wood. If the wood is porous, for example, you are sent to one set of statements; if it is non-porous, you jump to a different set of statements. You continue this way, flipping from page to page in a book, as each answer gradually reduces the choices. Finally, the search is narrowed to a single species.

Avoid keys that try to cover every wood species in the world; they will prove too general. Choose one that describes trees in a specific region, such as North American softwoods or tropical hardwoods. Several classic keys can be found in woodworking books; check your local library or bookstore. Some public agencies also offer wood identification services.

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