Wood ID - Box Elder or Not?

[Kent Reisdorph]

Someone posted this on reddit asking for wood ID:



Someone said box elder and got 35 upvotes. I said I don't think it's box elder and got downvoted. Yes, it has red in it, but it doesn't look like any box elder I have seen. The red looks more like heartwood than it does box elder flame. What's your vote?

For comparison. Sure, woods can vary from tree to tree, but I see nothing in common between these woods.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

Not boxelder Boxelder is a member of the maple family and the red is the beginnings of rot that always turns to a dull light tan like the area at the bottom of the second picture.

 

[Gabriel Hoff]

Looks like ash or maple to me.

 

[robo hippy]

Well, I would say not Box Elder. Not sure what it is though. That red/pink running through it follows the grain lines. The red in box elder can go all over the place, but not much of that grows out here. I would not guess ash. Could be in the maple family.

robo hippy

 

[Curt Fuller]

I see that pinkish streaking in a lot of the ornamental plum and cherry trees that I've salvaged over the years. Whatever it is, it's very pretty wood.

 

[Kevin Jesequel]

Look like plum to me. Definitely not boxelder.

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

That red/pink running through it follows the grain lines. The red in box elder can go all over the place

Yep, I pointed that out.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

My inclination is to say (not Manitoba Maple), I have turned some of that Red colored wood, though as I know it will change to a ugly color over time, I tend to not go after that wood, yes some other turners do like it, even paint it streaks red, as to make it look like the new wood color.
Made some turners happy with pieces of this red Manitoba maple.
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What I have noticed is that the streaks are not sharp edged like shown in the OP's picture, following the wood's grain, have a close look at that and compare.

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Could very well be ornamental Cherry or Plum as is pointed out,(while I was slowly gathering some pictures out of my album)
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One of my early red colored turnings, was pretty red for a bit, and it changed owners, hope they kept it in a darker place and saved that color for a while.
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I don't think that the OP's picture shows Manitoba maple (Ash-leaf Maple, or box-elder etc.)

 

[Michael Anderson]

One more vote for Plum.

 

[Gabriel Hoff]

Someone posted this on reddit asking for wood ID:



Someone said box elder and got 35 upvotes. I said I don't think it's box elder and got downvoted.

Of course you did, we are much smarter over here on the Forum then Reddit!

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Probably lost in all the jabbering I did, sorry, but I like to add the reasons I say what I did ??

And so the answer is, not Manitoba Maple, but probably ornamental Plum, .

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

Probably lost in all the jabbering I did, sorry, but I like to add the reasons I say what I did ??

And so the answer is, not Manitoba Maple, but probably ornamental Plum, View attachment 68314.

I inferred that.

 

[John K Jordan]

One good resource is hobbithouseinc.com. They have more photos of wood from different sides, ends, etc. than any other place I've seen. The variety within any species is sometimes stunning. Look at their entry for box elder:

box elder

And my go-to for many things wooden is the Wood Database. A couple of articles may be appropriate, this one on identifying wood uses the same techniques I learned from R. Bruce Hoadley's book "Identifying wood". It involves shaving the end grain of a small sample with a single-edged razor blade then examining the pores, rings, rays, etc with a 10x hand lens. I know of no better way to id at home. Section 7, "Look at the end grain" here tells how to start:

Wood Identification Guide | The Wood Database

www.wood-database.com

(Certain species have other identifying factors, such as fluorescence under UV light (for example in Black Locust).

The next section, "Still stumped" describes how to send a sample to a US gov lab for a free ID. I tried this once as a test and the answer came back quickly and matched my examination.

Another useful article is about color change in wood:

Preventing Color Changes in Exotic Woods | The Wood Database

www.wood-database.com

Basically, you can't stop the color change. The best advice to keep the colors is to use colored dyes. I know several people who have painted the red areas in box elder with a red dye using a small paint brush (after turning & before finishing).

JKJ