What's up with this log?

[Brendon Phillips]

A friend of mine asked about this log. He says it's a red oak (I haven't seen it in person) but has these black rings in it. Anyone know what it is/what's wrong with it?

 

[mdavlee]

That looks more like maple to me. The black rings can be salting and make some beautiful lumber.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

The only thing wrong with that log is, it's not sitting on some ones sawmill!

SR

 

[Brendon Phillips]

That looks more like maple to me. The black rings can be salting and make some beautiful lumber.

What is salting?

 

[Herd8497]

I think he meant to type spalting

 

[Sawyer Rob]

He meant to say "spalting"... lol

SR

 

[JohnWayne]

Also agree with the spalting. Crack it open and see what you find!

 

[olyman]

looks to me like a lot of punk wood,,

 

[mdavlee]

Also agree with the spalting. Crack it open and see what you find!

Yeah smart phone didn't like spalting.

 

[Dave Boyt]

Looks like mineral streaks. Spalting doesn't happen until the wood has been down for a while and fungus as moved into the wood. It will give you some spectacular lumber, but the boards tend to split apart, so get some end coating on it. Here's a link to some info from the U.S. Forest Service. http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/newtown_square/publications/information_bulletins/pdfs/OCR/ne_ah678d.pdf

Nice pile of logs!

 

[Brendon Phillips]

Thanks for the info fellas. I'll tell him to go for it.

 

[homedad]

Punk. I see that all of the time when you have a hollow area above from carpenter ants.

 

[mobile_bob]

looks like maple to me too! and i would be going crazy wanting to get it cut up asap!
however you might want to proceed carefully.

i would open up that log with the chainmill, and see what is inside, if it is as good as i suspect, it really ought to be cut up with a bandmill to get the best figure and highest percentage of useable wood out of the log.

furniture guys, turners, instrument builders go nuts over spalted maple, most especially if it has as i suspect some curly aspect too.

me? i would try my best to get as much quarter and rift sawn lumber from that spalted log, with a minimum thickness of 5/4s.

alternatively i would cut a few planks out of it to check the board quality, and then cut it into large blanks to be recut later, to order.

i would dearly love to have that log!

we get spalting here in standing live tree's, however it is usually found down in a hollowed out trunk and generally not very sound wood... hard to get em till the tree either falls over in a storm or a major branch break off... both of which seem not to happen as often with solid trunk tree's.

best of luck
bob g

 

[SDB777]

Dave has it right...mineral stains. I have a log out back right now that has the same stuff....Southern Red Oak 44" across!

The mineral stains go all the way through, and stay after it has been cut. Turned a few pieces some time ago from some of the bowl blanks I made, the stuff is truly awesome. If you are going to cut it into cants, try to have a little angle through it to show off the mineral stuff! It'll be worth more that way...



Not maple, not punky, and not spalted.


Scott (cheese frozenburger for dinner...WOOHOO) B