[UnionPacific]

Can anyone tell what type of wood this is?
Galley Shelf Cabinet - TKRonaBoat
I would like to copy the design, and it matches my teak, however I do not know what type of wood this is. Is it teak, or something less expensive?

 

[Faster]

Looks teaky to me....

 

[VallelyJ]

Hard to tell without a close-up of the actual grain, but it sort of looks like ash. Should be hard, with rather open pores, like oak has. It was apparently not uncommon in boat interiors. It's a lot cheaper than teak. Unstained and un-oxidized, it's a light yellow, but could be stained to the present color.
JV

 

[UnionPacific]

I know this is a hard one. Everything I googled online about wood identification was rather vague, and directed at unfinished wood.
I guess I should be asking then: What wood would work with such a project, and can be stained or varnished to match existing teak?

 

[Ulladh]

Looks like red oak. Get a small piece of red oak from a wood supply house and wet it then compare grain.

 

[paul323]

Very difficult to tell from the photos. Looks a bit more yellow/red than teak. Possibly a mahogany variety? Could also be red oak, but the grain seems rather dense.

You may want to visit a local lumber yard; if you do, use an old cabinetmaker's trick: wipe some denatured alcohol on a wood sample to get quick idea of what it would look like when varnished.

I love teak, but am reluctant to recommend it to you because of the price. It is not only beautiful, but the oils/waxes in the pores make it very weather resistant. However, down below this is not so essential (hopefully), so there are a range of beautiful woods which can safely be used. Teak and cherry (can get dark), mahogany, ash, oak, maple; if you are building with plywood, walnut can look spectacular.

Find out what nice woods a reputable lumber yard has; take your time to inspect each piece. perhaps even mix and match (mahogany grabrails with ash storage units? Mahogany trim I like on lighter woods). Have fun!

 

[seaner97]

Looks like oak, but ash also has a similar grain pattern. If it's interior to the boat, it is dry when you mill it and you seal/stain it appropriately, you can use darn near anything you would use on land. If you're someplace where the boat doesn't come out of the water, the relative humidity will actually be more stable and seasonal movement will be less. If you're going to go oak, white is more traditional for boat use.

 

[SVTatia]

Ipe.

A Brazilian hardwood that is becoming very popular...

I think its both - Ipe and Mahogany, but its hard to distinguish because of lighting, etc.
Beautiful woodwork nevertheless, there's definitely more to life than just teak..

 

[travlin-easy]

My guess would be mahogany. Red Oak usually has a tighter/finer grain. Of course, I could be wrong, too.

Gary

 

[VallelyJ]

Oak and ash can look a lot alike. Colors on a monitor aren't reliable. No answer you're going to get on the internet is likely to be reliable enough to warrant going out and buying a load of hardwood. (Except perhaps mine, of course.) Seriously, you need to look at actual wood and stain samples, or have a wood person look at yours.
Go to a lumber yard that specializes in hardwoods and look at the different species. Look at the stain samples. Try a few scrap pieces from the 'cut-off' bin with different stains.
Bring a piece of the wood you want to match if you can. If you're doing a woodworking project, pulling an existing piece off shouldn't add that much to it.
Also, try searching on woodworkers' websites for teak look-a-likes.
JV

 

[Skipper Jer]

Even if you knew what wood it was, teak, cherry, oak, matching the color via dye is real hard. Same spices of wood can have variations of color and grain and absorption of coloring agent and don't forget to toss in the aging factor. Using an American cherry and dyeing it a red tint should get you pretty close. I would also consider makore. I look at the pictures and see at least 4 different shades of maybe the same wood. As others have said the color has been modified by the camera, jpeg file and our monitors. If you can take a door or trim piece to a local supplier they may be able to suggest the proper wood and coloring agent. Oh, yes, the finish top coat, varnish or whatever will also cast a tint to it. Good luck.

 

[seaner97]

Perhaps I misunderstood, but I thought this was on another boat and you were copying to be on yours.

 

[tdw]

Looks very similar to interior of our girl and that is Mahogany.

 

[hellosailor]

Try 50 Samples
from Constantine's, they were in the Bronx for a million years before they retired down to Fort Laud. They also *stock* an incredible variety of woods, so you could go in and browse although it might pay to call ahead. The veneers kit gives you a hands-on reference to fifty woods, though. And some are so beautiful they will just beg to be made into projects.

Wood is so variable, even if it is the same species of wood and you are not planning to stain it to fake another kind, that a lot of purists go to hand-pick pieces that will be most suitable for their job. No other way to really match grains and patterns.

 

[Patient]

According to your link its a 1997 Caliber 40LRC right? The boatbuilders website lists the interiors as Teak with Holly soles and my google-fu came up with the same results. Unless the interior was redone at some point I'd lean towards teak.

As described on their site in regards to the 40LRC:

• All teak interior premium finish in satin varnish
• Teak & holly sole premium finish gloss varnish
• Cabinet doors teak louvered
• Teak panel passageway doors premium hardware
• Cedar lined hanging locker forward and aft cabin

 

[TomMaine]

Some looks like teak(especially the solid shelf brackets), some looks like mahogany. I'd use common mahogany that you can get at most lumber supplies. Referred to as Honduran Mahogany at my supplier(may not be correct but it's a new-fast growth renewable stock).

I pay about 8 or 9 dollars a board foot here in Maine for it. I used it for this project a few years ago on my boat. All the material-except the bleached companionway ladder to the left, the veneer trash bin and the veneer panel in the door(I salvaged that from a dumpster at the local boat builders-old bulkhead), is all new 8 dollar mahogany.

This photo taken under incandescent lighting under a tarp shows it redder than it is. But this is unstained-straight spar varnish finished.

 

[UnionPacific]

Perhaps I misunderstood, but I thought this was on another boat and you were copying to be on yours.

This is someone else's boat, and I want to copy the shelf only.
I would love to get teak for $8 a board foot.

 

[Rezz]

Some looks like teak(especially the solid shelf brackets), some looks like mahogany. I'd use common mahogany that you can get at most lumber supplies. Referred to as Honduran Mahogany at my supplier(may not be correct but it's a new-fast growth renewable stock).

I pay about 8 or 9 dollars a board foot here in Maine for it. I used it for this project a few years ago on my boat. All the material-except the bleached companionway ladder to the left, the veneer trash bin and the veneer panel in the door(I salvaged that from a dumpster at the local boat builders-old bulkhead), is all new 8 dollar mahogany.

This photo taken under incandescent lighting under a tarp shows it redder than it is. But this is unstained-straight spar varnish finished.

That teak looks like it has a bit of chatoyance. I didn't realize that was a characteristic of teak. Excellent salvage find, btw, on that veneer panel. Looks like great work.

To the OP - I'm going to go with not oak. Otherwise I'll defer to the woodworkers here.

 

[TomMaine]

That teak looks like it has a bit of chatoyance. I didn't realize that was a characteristic of teak. Excellent salvage find, btw, on that veneer panel. Looks like great work.

To the OP - I'm going to go with not oak. Otherwise I'll defer to the woodworkers here.

Here's the 8 dollar mahogany under daylight. You can see different hues of aging and species. The older wood is 50+ year old African Mahogany. Some has been recently stripped and refinished(the companionway ladder), some just left as is. Sunlight and time will blend it all.

That salvage piece: That in fact is the B side of an AB grade mahogany veneer from the bulkhead of a 1930's yacht! It was the middle of a painted white bulkhead, that was sawzalled out in a chunk. I couldn't get all the paint out of the A side, so centered the B veneer strips(un-painted side) in the door panel-frame I built to match the existing doors on the 1961 boat.

I like the effect, looks like a curtain of grains.

You can see some of the left over white paint on the A side of the salvaged panel, on the inside(lower left of panel). The new door covers a polycarbonate shield over our engine in the frame work. I think it is a great idea to safely check the engine while underway.

The whole piece held by 3 secure drawbolts, lifts out for engine maintenance.

 

[albrazzi]

I agree with all the comments on variety and it looks like a lot of different woods used in those pictures.
First who can afford Teak for inside the boat.$30 - 45 bd ' new.
Sapele Mahogany is my Favorite material, check Exotic lumber in Annapolis for pallet prices in the $3 range. Best wood I have ever worked with. Its a hard wood that doesn't work like a hard wood especially Ash (think baseball bats) and Cherry, Maple and such, hard on tools too.
Mahogony will darken naturally even with indirect sunlight, Satin Poly for me.
Teak w/ Danish Oil topside. I look for it scrap because I can machine surface and its brand new again. Only way I can afford it.