question re this wood

[texx]

G,day i am part way through turning this little bowl from a very nice blank of maple silkwood that i got from chris ( mapleman )a few weeks ago .
anyway it has this real nice section of curly grain stuff in it but is divided from the so so wood by a line almost like it has been cut and joined or cracked and repaired , but it has'nt been.
what causes this line and or what is it .

[artme]

Very nice!!!:):):)

I guess the diving line is just one of those those things. Just a virtually unexplianable natural feature.

[son_of_bluegras]

I would guess an injury happened to the tree and it repaired itself. I've seen similar in trees I've had to take down that I know was from an old injury that the tree healed.

ron

[Skew's_Girl]

Edit: :doh: Son_of_Bluegras said it. I'm a little late on the uptake

It's almost like, there was a stress that split the wood a little bit (the line) and then the tree over time pulled itself back together.

Could this have been from just below a branch for example? explain the fiddle-backing on just one side (on the trunk, below the limb) and the break (the limb split slightly from the trunk but not enough to hang)

Could this cause the line where the slight crack was and the figuring from the stress/repairing the break?

[brendan stemp]

This is a theory of mine that has been formulated over a number of years through observation of where fiddleback occurs and seems to hold true in most cases. I'm not suggesting it's an original theory but I have never come across a scientific explanation of the cause of fiddleback.

Fiddleback is caused by a compression of the cells in timber. This could be through the shear weight of the tree (in the case of big old trees where f/b often is seen closer to the butt of the tree) or, as Skew's Girl suggested, it is often found on the underside of a branch/trunk junction. At this point you can often see what looks like wrinkles in the bark which indicates the presence of f/b. I have also noticed that fiddleback is more prevalent close to the surface or bark and disappears the deeper into the log you go. This would be the case because the cells of the timber are more compressed at this point and would explain why in texx's bowl the has an obvious deliniation between f/b and plainer timber.

[rsser]

Could be a spalting line.

Quite incidental to the figure in the wood.

The tree's defence against fungal attack I've been told.

[Sawdust Maker]

I have no idea

but it certainly looks good

had similar in a small piece of gidgee - looked superb until developed a crack elsewhere :doh:

[Old Croc]

G,day i am part way through turning this little bowl from a very nice blank of maple silkwood that i got from chris ( mapleman )a few weeks ago .
anyway it has this real nice section of curly grain stuff in it but is divided from the so so wood by a line almost like it has been cut and joined or cracked and repaired , but it has'nt been.
what causes this line and or what is it .
Hi texx,
That is a common feature in Maple and Maple Silkwood. I have tonnes of the stuff, and you will occasionally find it in some trees and not in others. My view was that it was a stutter in the growth from either drought or wind stress damage from a tropical storm when the tree was actively growing,
regards,
Crocy.

[hughie]

e
) or, as Skew's Girl suggested, it is often found on the underside of a branch/trunk junction. At this point you can often see what looks like wrinkles in the bark which indicates the presence of f/b.

Pretty well agree with all said on fiddleback, especially the above comment.
Just outside of the place I work we have a large ghost gum with a sizable fork, over the years I watched with interest the ripples to under side multiply. To the point now,that I am wondering/hoping about a lightening strike. :U Looks like it would produce a decent sized bowl around 12-14" with magical fiddleback :U