What is this wood?

[British Red]

I was bucking up a load of tree trunks today including a big stack of coniferous logs one of the local tree surgeons left us. Some of those had really vivid pink heartwood. I'm not entirely certain what it is but suspect it might be red cedar? Pretty regardless

Pink Heartwood by English Countrylife, on Flickr

 

[slowworm]

Any pic of the bark, any describable smell from the wood? London plane can be very pink when fresh e.g. - https://summerhill-woodwork.com/blog/tag/london+plane+wood

 

[British Red]

Definitely not London Plane - none of those distinctive camouflage scales. Here's a log pile of it from various angles.

Log stack by English Countrylife, on Flickr

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Ooh it's deffo not a broadleaf. I've seen plenty of purple heartwood in yew before.

 

[Robbi]

I've seen this before...... Buggered it I can remember!!!

Aaagh..... Give me time

 

[Kadushu]

I had some like that from a conifer I cut down. It was tough green and very hard once dried. No idea of the species though.

 

[Robbi]

Ooh it's deffo not a broadleaf. I've seen plenty of purple heartwood in yew before.

Yes, I think that's it, the bark looks very Yew-ish as well.

 

[British Red]

It was heavy so could be yew. Thanks guys

 

[Stew]

There is no way they are yew. Too much sap to heartwood for a log that size.

 

[Nice65]

There is no way they are yew. Too much sap to heartwood for a log that size.

And the rings show Too much growth. It’s a softwood, probably Lawsons or Leylandii.

Did it give off a resinous smell on cutting BR?

 

[Robbi]

Hmmmm... Leylandii is starting to ding little bells now, trying to figure out where I saw it.

 

[Toddy]

Looks like damp Douglas Fir.
It has a pink heartwood, that when sodden wet looks more red.

That said, western red cedar is also red in the core, but usually that's all of the core, rather than tapering out.

 

[MartiniDave]

I thought Leylandii, carves quite nicely and dries very light weight.

 

[British Red]

And the rings show Too much growth. It’s a softwood, probably Lawsons or Leylandii.

Did it give off a resinous smell on cutting BR?

Yep. Some visible golden resin but not like pine

 

[British Red]

It could indeed be Leylandii. It was chuffing heavy but its fresh cut

 

[dwardo]

Would have to dig back but looks like the stuff the Bowyer guys used to post from the states. They called it ERC or eastern red cedar. Could be dreaming it all up mind.

 

[Nice65]

Yep. Some visible golden resin but not like pine

It’s good and sticky, many a time I’ve sat on a log or stump of fresh cut wood and had to peel myself off.

 

[Robson Valley]

I have been carving western red cedar from both the coastal and inland forests here for more than 20 years. Thuja plicata.
It is never red. Maybe a pale pink which oxidizes to a dirty pale brown over night.
I see a lot of that deep color, variable in its placement, in aromatic cedar logs of our genus Juniperus. Stunning cabinet work.

 

[Toddy]

We had some red cedar at one of the sites I worked on (they felled it nearby, so we were pretty sure of it) and it was red inside....like pink cooked meat. We wondered a bit looking at it, because our Alder bleeds red and G. was insistent that it was alder, but it wasn't, it was red but it didn't bleed.
Nice timber though. They made a table, a huge display shelf come reception thing, and used bits for looms and boats from it.