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Surprise decay pattern

M

Matthew Ferriter

Joined
Apr 19, 2018
Messages
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Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Cut a tree down in the backyard as it was close to falling onto my workshop. Found the following in the stump after cutting:

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I've cut several round blanks and a couple slabs that are now drying in my shop. Excited to find out what I can get out of them.
 
Go to Upload A File and pick from your Pictures file. That's what I just did. I want to see the wood!!!
 

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That's red maple with a lot of worm (ambrosia beetles)stripes, my wife looked over and said "that's ambrosia maple". :) That's a nice one, how big is it? Turn it green and it will keep that nice contrast of white and colors. The white stains very quickly from fungal growth. Makes nice natural edge bowls and hollow vessels-pretty stable stuff.

When you upload, there's a couple of small check boxes that let you upload as a thumbnail, or a large image.

John
 
Thanks for the replies w/ identification. I thought it was a poplar, since I have a load of those, but maple makes sense, given the distinct ambrosia beetle pattern (there were no leaves on it that would have made it easier for me to ID). As I cut it into manageable pieces, there was a 1" diameter hole running through the top 6' - 8' of the main trunk. Glad I got it down before it decided to fall.

The stump shown in the picture is about 16" x 18" oval. I got some 8 - 10" rounds as well as a couple of slabs cut with the grain (cut from the base of the trunk). I'll probably twice turn one of the rounds while green as suggested, and seal up the rest to dry. I'll try better to post pics as I work my way through them.
 
Matthew Ferriter said:
Cut a tree down in the backyard as it was close to falling onto my workshop. Found the following in the stump after cutting:
I've cut several round blanks and a couple slabs that are now drying in my shop. Excited to find out what I can get out of them.
Click to expand...

This piece by pat miller was posted to the gallery and instantly reminded me of your tree:fullsizeoutput_16c2.jpeg
 
Roger Chandler said:
John is totally correct, ambrosia beetles leave those markings in the wood, and they make some beautiful bowls, etc
Click to expand...
Okay, this may get me in a bit of trouble, but I say it with only a completely humorous intent. Laughing while typing it, so please don't take it with any other way. But, any of us confirming John Jordan's wood identification of ambrosia maple is about in the same vein as confirming some of Hawking's theories! LOL
 
Richard Coers said:
Okay, this may get me in a bit of trouble, but I say it with only a completely humorous intent. Laughing while typing it, so please don't take it with any other way. But, any of us confirming John Jordan's wood identification of ambrosia maple is about in the same vein as confirming some of Hawking's theories! LOL
Click to expand...
Who? :)

John
 
Matthew Ferriter said:
OK - need to figure out how to upload images. Tried this using Google Docs.
Click to expand...

On the main index page, just below the row of pictures there is a section titled "AAW FORUM RULES AND HELP" and in that section there is a category called "Help and FAQ's". If you click on that category you will see a list of tutorials. One of them tells you how to upload pictures to a post. If you click HERE it will take you directly to the tutorial on how to do it.
 
Richard Coers said:
Okay, this may get me in a bit of trouble, but I say it with only a completely humorous intent. Laughing while typing it, so please don't take it with any other way. But, any of us confirming John Jordan's wood identification of ambrosia maple is about in the same vein as confirming some of Hawking's theories! LOL
Click to expand...

Keep your day job ... nuff said!
 
Richard Coers said:
Okay, this may get me in a bit of trouble, but I say it with only a completely humorous intent. Laughing while typing it, so please don't take it with any other way. But, any of us confirming John Jordan's wood identification of ambrosia maple is about in the same vein as confirming some of Hawking's theories! LOL
Click to expand...
Whenever there is a question as to something, it always serves a good purpose to have corroborating witnesses. Not that John Jordan needs one perse, but if the testimony of a witness would ever be disputed, then others who testify, being knowledgeable on the subject themselves, can help those who are having to make correct decisions on a matter become more confident that they are making proper judgments if they adopt the testimony of said witnesses.

Corroborating testimony.......that's all, nothing more! :p

Richard, I would love to have been in the room with you when you were typing and laughing.....I would probably have been laughing right along with you! :D

Oh, by the way...there are a number of things that Stephen Hawking hypothesized about, and while science in general always seemed to be enamored by what he posited, many of them were not actually proven. He was a brilliant thinker, for sure.
Related to our thread here, I would think that the certainty of Jordan's wood identification has more certainty than many of Hawkings "theories!"
 
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