Look what I found hiding in the woods!

[lumberjackchef]

I was scrounging around a jobsite that my dad has been working and found this diamond in the rough. They are cleaning up a huge amount of undergrowth and older not so healthy trees. This piece of spalted flaming Box Elder was laying on the ground in some brush so I threw it in my trunk this morning. Fired up the 066 with my homade alaskan style mill and this was the result. I got 3-3" thick slabs. Some of the most beautiful wood I've ever seen. You can guess where I'l be going tomorrow after the crew leaves. This stuff makes me want to buy a lathe. I have a friend that does some turning so I processed a little sampler for him.

 

[peterrum]

Wow, very nice stuff. Love the red in the grain, hope it stays for you.

 

[MotorSeven]

I've never seen that before, thanks for posting it....beautifull!

RD

 

[Stihl-in-Ky]

The red in the grain is box elders reaction to stress you have to cut it to find it.

 

[deeker]

You have a LOT more red in the box elder than what I have found.

Looks great.

Keep posting.

Kevin

 

[sprung22]

That's awesome...Ive never seen any wood like that...Great find

 

[irishcountry]

Sweet nice stuff!! Really good find!

 

[November Wolf]

That is really cool.

 

[oldsaw]

Unfortunately, the red will fade in the sunlight. That's pretty red though. Very deep and a lot of it. I cut a lot of boxelder when I was growing up and didn't see many with that much red. Pretty rare.

Mark

 

[BuddhaKat]

Really cool. There's got to be a way to preserve the color. Dang shame if not.

 

[lumberjackchef]

First time I've ever seen it too. Wait till you see the stuff I found today. :rockn:Bad to the bone. Some is spalting very well too. We picked up a truck load of logs today and if the weather is good I found 2 more 20+ inchers to grab. One of the pieces has a pretty good sized burl in it as well. Can't wait to see what that may look like. I gave a pen blank too my BIL today to give to his FIL who has a mini lathe and makes a lot of pens. He came out tonight and told me that his FIL about Shart his britches when he seen it. He asked him where in the world that he found it and told him it was me. I gave him a little more in the hopes of getting a pretty cool lookin pen in return. Needless to say I think my milling addiction is getting to a fever pitch. My BIL has been helping me design a mill that converts to a thailer similar to the procut design but with a little twist. In about 15 mins you will be able to switch it over from a 16-30" chainsaw slabbing mill to 14" bandsaw mill similar to the ripsaw. I'll post some pics next month whaen we start the build.

 

[lumberjackchef]

Unfortunately, the red will fade in the sunlight. That's pretty red though. Very deep and a lot of it. I cut a lot of boxelder when I was growing up and didn't see many with that much red. Pretty rare.

Mark

Ya the red does fade but the caramels, creams, and characteristics of the grain are pretty enough. the ones I found today have a bunch of greenish/blue spalt in them as well.

 

[woodshop]

Ya the red does fade but the caramels, creams, and characteristics of the grain are pretty enough. the ones I found today have a bunch of greenish/blue spalt in them as well.

Sunlight does fade that red, but you can keep it partially there by coating with UV resistant finishes, there are some. And yes much of it still looks great with all the mottled browns and tans along with the pinkish. Here in PA I've come across pure stands of it, it seems to grow very well in certain kinds of damp not well drained soil. On my Dad's property up near Hamburg PA, it's almost a weed tree with every 3d or 4th tree a boxelder.

 

[Rockfarmer]

I love that red too,.. how about if you made what you wanted and then sealed it with West System epoxy. We use that epoxy for boat stuff and its bulletproof It has a thick shiny finish to it like polyurethane and stands up to the elements. That is some neat looking wood!

 

[Dai Sensei]

What beautiful timber :jawdrop:

 

[carvinmark]

Never seen it before, pretty wood.

 

[lumberjackchef]

Yeay , Its really cool looking. Thats why I couldn't resist, we went back and picked up two truck loads of logs that are highly figured. Some even have a little black line spalting in them. I 'll be processing some more blanks soon so I'll be posting my finds as they come. Anybody ever mill this into boards or slabs? Just wondering how this wood would work for some small furniture projects!

 

[stipes]

That is nice!!!

I never seen box elder before...Thanks for the pics!!!!!

 

[the westspartan]

There is a product I have used recently that may help the red stay in the wood, as well as eliminating the need for drying it. It is called CedarShield or Turners Choice. It is made by the Cedarcide company, the website is: http://www.cedarcidestore.citymax.com/cedarproducts.html

I used it on my deck and it seems to work really well. Also it is a small company out of Texas with a really friendly tech/help line.

Good Luck

 

[lumberjackchef]

THanks for the tip I will check it out!