kodawood chair  

Pretty sure these were typically walnut and walnut veneers, Oskar.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/walnut,%20black.htm

The bottom and back "shells" had a walnut veneer, but I am asking about the base, which is solid wood. It is definitely not walnut. Here are some pictures of the wood stained and one that is just sanded down.

Hmmm, you're right. Much lighter in color than walnut and with pronounced medullary rays. I still think it's a hardwood, though. Something like sycamore maybe.

That is Elm. Not sure which. Very likely one that grows domestically. A fair number of MCM pieces used it. Lane used it a lot. For instance the lighter wood in Lane Acclaim tables is stained elm. You can see it unstained in Ercol furniture, which is solid elm.

Leif, you are the maestro when it comes to identification. American elm it is, some of the support pieces for the chairs usually have a light green discoloration that is common to american elm. Makes sense as it would have been a plentiful wood for them to work with at that time. Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

Elm! Of course, Leif!
Should have seen it right off. Must be getting old!

Probably the dark stain threw you off. It did that to me for the first few years. I finally figured it out when I refinished a piece of elm and finally saw it in its natural state.

I really should have recognized it, Leif. I did a restoration of an 1880's butler's pantry years ago that was all old-growth elm vertical beaded tongue-and-groove paneling. Fortunately, all the original woodwork and cabinets that had been removed sometime in the early '60's had been neatly stored in a carriage barn and I was able to reuse almost all of it, including a quartered white oak section of counter top 5/4 X 24" X 9'. A single board! 110 years old and still dead flat! It was as if the guys who carefully dismantled it somehow knew that someday it would all need to be put back! I thanked their spirits many times over for it, too.
I remember getting a couple of nasty splinters from the elm and deciding to grind off most of the cut nails, which were *not* gonna come out without a fight.