Best Wood Identification Book

I've googled and amazoned (zonned?), and it appears that the following are available...

  • What Wood Is That: A Manual of Wood Identification (Studio Book) by Herbert Leeson Edlin

  • Encyclopedia of Wood: A Tree-By-Tree Guide to the World's Most Valuable Resource by William Lincoln, Aidan Walker, John Makepeace

  • The Woodbook by Klaus Ulrich Leistikow

  • 100 Woods: A Guide to Popular Timbers of the World by Peter Bishop

  • Wood : Identification & Use by Terry Porter

*World Woods in Color by William Alexander Lincoln

  • International Book Of Wood by Martin Bramwell

This last one is out of print, but appears to be well regarded. Additionally, I stumbled across the following software - The Wood Explorer CD

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it would be nice to find one all encompassing volume that would allow me to identify all woods, I'm not overly optimistic. Any suggestions?

The ability to identify living species is also important to me.

JP

Reply to
Jay Pique
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That's a nice one, shows 'em with leaves, and also has a sample of each in the back (if that's the same edition as I have).

See above. That's the only one I can comment on, but it's great.

Dave Hinz

Reply to
Dave Hinz

What? Nothing by Charles Self? What is the world coming to?

Reply to
Joe_Stein

Mon, Jul 19, 2004, 8:37pm snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Jay=A0Pique) Any suggestions?

Books like that, I prefer holding in my grubby little mitts, and leafing thru them, before I part with any hard to come by dinars.

So, I'd start at my local library, and see what they've got. Then I'd go to the local college library, and see what they've got. Then, the one(s) I'd like to own, I'd try tracking down. I get 99.9% of my books, from used book stores.

By the way, it's no trick identifying trees. I have a whole yard full of them, and I can look out of my door at any one of them, and tell it's a tree. No prob.

JOAT

We've got a lot of experience of not having any experience.

- Nanny Ogg

Reply to
J T

Joe Stein notes:

Give me time! I'm working on it. A couple years, and one should be out, if nothing goes wrong.

Charlie Self "When you appeal to force, there's one thing you must never do - lose." Dwight D. Eisenhower

Reply to
Charlie Self

You missed Hoadley, "Identifying Wood".

There is no "all encompassing volume that would allow me to identify all woods". The Forest Products Laboratory, with a staff of PhDs, the largest collection of wood samples in the world, a sophisticated laboratory, and the ability to call on the full resources of the United States Government, cannot reliably identify _all_ woods and they admit as much.

All any book is going to do is give you a start.

There are some organizations as well. The Center for Wood Anatomy Research is the US Government lab that does that sort of thing. The International Wood Collectors' Society has a journal addressing wood identificiation. The Forest Products Society has a variety of publications. The International Association for Plant Taxonomy is the professional society for scientists who specialize in the classification of plants including trees.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Jay Pique schreef

by Herbert Leeson Edlin

by William Lincoln, Aidan Walker, John Makepeace

by Klaus Ulrich Leistikow

by Peter Bishop

by Terry Porter

by William Alexander Lincoln

by Martin Bramwell

Additionally, I stumbled across the following software -

allow me to identify all woods, I'm not overly optimistic. Any suggestions?

  • + + A lot depends on what you mean by "wood identification". Obviously, what you might mean by "all woods" is a complete mystery.

There certainly are more books than this. Also see the "### micro-FAQ on wood": you can't really go wrong with the "Good Wood Handbook" PvR

I have not seen the book by Terry Porter yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Also unsure about this CD, and how it relates to its predecessor, which was not much ].

Reply to
P van Rijckevorsel

PVR notes:

Yes. All woods. I'm not sure we've found all the wood varieties there are yet, or that we ever will.

I really like the Edlin book. I have the Woodbook in its current form. I'd love to see it done without the gold on black print, but it's one great piece of reading. Lincoln's book is also excellent, but you might want to add "A Guide To Useful Woods of The World" edited by James Flynn and Charles Holder, of the International Wood Collectors Society. Published by the Forest Products Society, Madison, Wisconsin. ISBN 1-892529-15-7 in the paperback edition.

None of them come close to covering ALL the woods of the world. There are 279 in the second edition of the guide above, and it is woefully short of species. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, that might be of interest aren't included.

Lincoln's WWIC has about 250 (too lazy to count them).

It may well be better to identify 100 or 200 particular woods, or 300, and go after the details on those. Trying to do all is probably an impossibility, and a supremely expensive impossibility.

Charlie Self "When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty." George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra (1901)

Reply to
Charlie Self

you might mean by "all woods" is a complete mystery.

Charlie Self schreef

yet, or that we ever will.

  • + + It is likable but the set-up is a little out-of-date
  • + +

the gold on black print, but it's one great piece of reading.

  • + +
Yes, the gold on black gets on one's nerves. The pictures are great (note that it deals with US-woods only), but are on the internet.
  • + +

Lincoln's book is also excellent,

  • + +
No, it is rather sloppy. I am on the verge of hating it.
  • + +

but you might want to add "A Guide To Useful Woods of The World" edited by James Flynn and Charles Holder, of the International Wood Collectors Society. Published by the Forest Products Society, Madison, Wisconsin. ISBN

1-892529-15-7 in the paperback edition.

  • + +
There is no hard cover edition, so the paperback is all there is. This book has many virtues, and certainly is an honest piece of work, but although one could do worse than owning this, I am ambivalent about recommending it to the beginner.

  • + +

279 in the second edition of the guide above, and it is woefully short of species. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, that might be of interest aren't included.
  • + +
If you will open "The Guide to Useful Woods" you will see (on page 565) an estimate of 5000-10 000 woods from a potential of 20 000 - 40 000 tree species. In practice it may well be higher.
  • + +

go after the details on those. Trying to do all is probably an impossibility, and a supremely expensive impossibility.

  • + +
Any beginner would do well to aim for two or three dozen of the most common woods. That will be hard enough. The Edlin book deals with 40 woods. PvR
Reply to
P van Rijckevorsel

I think it'd move along a little faster if you didn't insist on growing every one of the darned samples yurself! :)

Reply to
patrick conroy

Patrick Conroy notes:

Yeah, but now I'm old enough to use some of the samples set in soil when I was a kid. Past old enough, in fact.

Charlie Self "When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty." George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra (1901)

Reply to
Charlie Self

Bruce Hoadley's "Understanding Wood." I have it, its good. See link:

Reply to
Mutt

It would move much faster if you didn't spend so much time hasslin' poor old BAD on the wRECk. ;-) mahalo, jo4hn

Reply to
jo4hn

You mean he's still here? My filters have worked for a couple months, now, so I've got no idea who is doing what to whom.

Charlie Self "When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty." George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra (1901)

Reply to
Charlie Self

On 21 Jul 2004 00:11:54 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@aol.comnotforme (Charlie Self) calmly ranted:

Mine, too, but I had to keep adding the people who kept on replying to him day after day after day. Once I got to zero tolerance he went away for good.

--------------------------------------------------- I drive way too fast to worry about my cholesterol. ---------------------------------------------------

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Reply to
Larry Jaques

Actually, I haven't seen hide nor hair of him for a while. I thought that snipped-for-privacy@unknown.hellhole or whatever it was, was Dave. Some of the words, phraseology, and attitude were quite similar. Sigh. Just one of life's little bouts with emesis. mahalo, jo4hn

Reply to
jo4hn

My killfiles are working. Dave has ceased to exist. Damned shame - cuz there probably was *some* potential in there. Probably. Maybe not...

Reply to
patrick conroy

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