Thread: Unusual ash grain!

Was cutting up a rough ash log the city dumped in the hollar it had a lot of knots so I was making 2x6's for a building I am working on.When I got to the last two boards I got a good suprise.

looks more like maple or basswood. Steve

Cool looking stuff! Does look like maple though (I haven't cut up Basswood, so I can't say I know what that looks like).

Ash tends to look similar to oak in the dark grain patterns.

Can you get a closer picture and maybe a shot of the bark?

I have been doing a bunch of Ash lately and found this “interesting” one in this pile of logs. I cut all my own logs so I am fairly sure it is Ash.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...7/IMG_0249.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...007/ash003.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...007/ash001.jpg

its kinda cool lookin. . . .

Don't ya just love the little surprises when you open up a log! It kinda looks like ambrosia staining on a large scale but is most likely from moisture entering the tree via broken off dead branches. (AKA the knots)I'm far from an expert but that would be my guess. Those slabs would make a great sofa table or the likes! Congrats.

Beautiful boards... that darker wood is heartwood. Sweetgum and also Black Gum often look like this, as well as many of the softer maples like Silver Maple. Those trees often have irregular heartwood that sometimes can have unusual patterns as you slice open the log. I'm fairly confident though that it is not an ash log.

Hello all. My reply today was at work and had little time to go into details. When I cut the tree that gave me the different grain pattern I knew something wasn't right. The color of the saw dust was to dark. If it was not a ash tree then it looked like something very close. The bark looked the same as Ash, and the tree it's self looked like an Ash. I took the second log from the tree and it did not have the same gain pattern, but looked just like normal Ash? This why I brought the small beam back to the house. I was not sure what I had. I have noticed this dark grain on some Ash around "openings" into the tree, but not in all the grain. I would like to hear any ideas what I might have milled. This stuff would look great in my hunting camp...Like Woodshop said, The hart wood is beautiful. Live and learn. The tree was taken just South of Watertown NY. Thank you for any help.

Originally Posted by MJR

If it was not a ash tree then it looked like something very close. The bark looked the same as Ash, and the tree it's self looked like an Ash.

One quick and dirty way to tell is look at the leaves and or small twigs coming from a larger branches, and see if they are opposite each other. Maple, Ash and Dogwood all have leaves and twigs opposite one another on the branch, symmetrical, where oaks, hickories and all other trees are alternate where every other leaf or small twig is on opposite side of branch, alternating back and forth. This is a simplified query of course, as there are exceptions to this when it comes to lesser species and smaller bushes. But MAD (Maple/ Ash /Dogwood) have opposite venation. Also, if there are leaves, then see if it is a compound leave (as ash has) with several leaflets on each leaf stem.

Look at curdy's pictures, that is how white ash looks all the way through the log. Black ash is similar except it's a little darker and the grain is more like red oak. My son took one look at original picture and said maple, he's sawed a lot of it lately. I thought it looked like basswood but not quite, too much dark wood. Steve

Here's a pic of Sweetgum as Woodshop mentioned. It's freshly cut in this pic so it's a bit darker than it will be when dry.

Originally Posted by KurtFromJersey

Don't ya just love the little surprises when you open up a log! It kinda looks like ambrosia staining on a large scale but is most likely from moisture entering the tree via broken off dead branches. (AKA the knots)I'm far from an expert but that would be my guess. Those slabs would make a great sofa table or the likes! Congrats.

Kinda like this? Its not the best picture, but this whole maple log was filled with ambrosia ghosting and some very interesting color tones. Best part is that there is some very nice quilted-almost fiddle back grain patterns.

The spots are a little bit of mildew from sitting un-stickered for a couple of days. Put some bleach on it and stickered it. I'll be most likely be moving this pile sometime soon...I'll try to remember to take some more pics then.

Yes you are right it is Gum it was in with a bunch of ash I had cut two weeks before and I had never cut any Gum before and since it was just the log there were no leaves or twigs. I was short on time and just wanted to get ot cut up and gone so I realy did not pay close enough attention to the grain.Her is another pic I took of the boards thanks for the help.Now that we know it is gum I still want to use the boards for coffee table tops is there anything I need to know as far as drying and working these boards. Thanks for any advice you can give.

Originally Posted by Stihl-in-Ky

Yes you are right it is Gum it was in with a bunch of ash I had cut two weeks before and I had never cut any Gum before and since it was just the log there were no leaves or twigs. I was short on time and just wanted to get ot cut up and gone so I realy did not pay close enough attention to the grain.Her is another pic I took of the boards thanks for the help.Now that we know it is gum I still want to use the boards for coffee table tops is there anything I need to know as far as drying and working these boards. Thanks for any advice you can give.

Gum tends to warp and twist a bit more than other woods air drying, in my experience. Havn't done tons of it though, so I could have just gotten a nasty batch of it that gave me a bad experience. I am talking about Black Gum (nyssa sylvatica).

Originally Posted by woodshop

Gum tends to warp and twist a bit more than other woods air drying, in my experience. Havn't done tons of it though, so I could have just gotten a nasty batch of it that gave me a bad experience. I am talking about Black Gum (nyssa sylvatica).

Pretty much the same with sweet gum. Thicker pieces tend to honeycomb if dried too quickly and the heart wood end grain checks badly if not sealed very well.