What kind of wood is this? (model, furniture, grain, factory)

[Lije Baley]

I see a lot of this type of ultra fine-grained wood in older mid-century modern furniture and assume it must be really dense/strong to support all that weight with such slender proportions:

1950's / 60's Mid-Century Modern Chair | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/freakovsky/3606737172/ - broken link)

I also see it used for those needle-like legs certain console stereo systems and tables used back then.

[Va-Cat]

Originally Posted by Lije Baley

I see a lot of this type of ultra fine-grained wood in older mid-century modern furniture and assume it must be really dense/strong to support all that weight with such slender proportions:

1950's / 60's Mid-Century Modern Chair | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/freakovsky/3606737172/ - broken link)

I also see it used for those needle-like legs certain console stereo systems and tables used back then.

Looks like maple to me.

[BoxCar Willie]

I think it is maple also.

[lifelongMOgal]

3 votes for Maple.

[hoffdano]

It certainly could be maple. But it would have to be stained to be that dark, and maple is used un-stained more often than it is used stained. It looks like it could also be cherry.

A good sampling of different woods and their characteristics:

Lewis Lumber Products - Wood Characteristics

[Lamplight]

Could also be hackberry. One of my former coworkers used to work for a furniture factory and he said they used a ton of hackberry, which surprised me.

[ptsum]

I had a pair of those chairs once back in the mid 60s, the wood is maple...

[Wilson513]

I think it has to be maple because of how thin it is. Only other choice would be oak and it certainly is not oak. Nothing else is strong enough to be made that thin for a chair.

[nybbler]

If it was the chair it's based on (Kristiansen model 121), it would be teak. It might be anyway, but more likely maple stained to look like it.

[Zembonez]

Looks to be 1960s. Teak or clear walnut if you ask me.