Non-destructive identification of wood

Brett Charbeneau <brett [at] cwf__org> writes

>Can anyone point me/us in the direction of a some source material
>which explains the various methods of (hopefully) non-destructive
>species identification for wood?

Conventional wood identification is relatively destructive, but it
is possible to identify wood species using individual fibres.  This
technique is used in paper analysis, where the macro structure of
the timber is totally destroyed and only dissociated fibres remain.
A good paper technology laboratory or forensic science laboratory
should be able to identify small samples of wood fibres obtained by
drilling or scraping the wood concerned.

Dr. Nigel Seeley
The National Trust
36, Queen Anne's Gate
London, SW1H 9AS
+44 171-227 4869
Fax: +44 171-976 0747

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 9:52
                  Distributed: Sunday, January 7, 1996
                        Message Id: cdl-9-52-008
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