Is this really walnut?

Bought an antique dresser advertised as walnut, just finished dissolving varnish off a drawer. Can someone tell me if that is correct?

 

It is a nice figure, whatever it is but I do not think it is walnut. I could well be wrong, the way the wood is sawn can make a big difference to the appearance. In any case, it is almost always a veneer nowadays (the last century or so) The golden age of walnut was the late 17th, early 18th C.

Then along came mahogany.

Woodworm love walnut.

 

Not walnut. Looks like mahogany to me.

 

I showed the picture to a hobby woodworker at a hardware store and he thinks its white oak. He says the feathering in the grain is likely caused by hand planing.

 

Hi,
I have to agree with Brad, it is mahogany. Hand planning won't cause "feathering" like that.
greg

 

Definitely not oak.

When that feathering is more consistent, it is often referred to as ribbon mahogany.....



This is white oak. It is naturally quite light but could be stained.

 

There are actually a lot of different species of wood that get marketed as mahogany. What you have could actually be sapele. It might depend on the piece you have. If American and made before 1960, it is probably true mahogany. If French 1920s (for example), it could just as likely be sapele.

 

Thank you all. The dresser was made sometime in the 30's I suspect but I haven't been able to identify the maker...yet.