How can you tell what kind of wood a piece of antique furniture is made of?

Question

I have a sleigh bed I believe is antique. It is made of a dark wood that seems to be somewhat soft. I would like to find out what kind of wood it is. Does anyone know how to tell?

Answer 1

most were made of WALNUT<<<<<<

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

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Answer 4

RE:
How can you tell what kind of wood a piece of antique furniture is made of?
I have a sleigh bed I believe is antique. It is made of a dark wood that seems to be somewhat soft. I would like to find out what kind of wood it is. Does anyone know how to tell?

Answer 5

the best thing to do...to tell if it's antique or not is to look at the joints, if they are well made it usually means antique as workmanship has really fallen off in modern furniture

also look for any screws or fitments for an indicator of age.

wood itself is fairly difficult. antique objects such as yours may be would have been made with a "HardWood" as their availability nowerdays is restricted, often cheaper woods are used and stained to make them look like more expensive woods

if you want a tip go to an antique store and find an object that is made from the same material as your bed and ask the owner what it is made from..

Answer 6

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Answer 7

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Answer 8

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Answer 9

if the unfinished portions of the wood that you can see are naturally quite dark. then its almost surely walnut. the grain should be quite dense but the wood itself will not be extremely hard like maple is. its also possible that it may be mahoganey, which has a reddish/ purplish tint to the finished wood, and its a little softer than walnut.

Answer 10

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Answer 11

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