Poor quality maple?

[Dengue]

Hello, I got hold of a board of silkwood maple, but it has disfiguring marks all over it

Q1. Is is called "Maple Silkwood" Maple (MSM) or just Silkwood Maple (SM)?

Q2. What causes the unsightly markings in the timber, as seen below? The one on the right appears to be a stain of some sort. Have planed and extensively sanded it before cutting to size, but the marks are throughout the timber

Hoping somebody can help

364360

[Fuzzie]

I've been calling my boards Maple Silkwood, which is what it was sold as. There seem to be several variants of common name in use http://keys.trin.org.au/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Flindersia_pimenteliana.htm

My boards have quite a variety of colours and grain effects, but none quite like your dark patches. http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=182360&p=1783405#post1783405
http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=191002&p=1847451#post1847451

[Wood Collector]

The only reasons that I could think of what would cause the mark is if it was cut near the heart and it was starting to rot a bit or if it was part of the remains of a branch that was healed over.

[John.G]

It's generally called "silkwood maple" or just "silkwood" in FNQ, though "maple silkwood" is the name used in PNG. The three letter code is MSW, so the last is probably the "right" name.
Flindersia pimenteliana anyway.

the discoloration is a characteristic of the species, never seems to be rhyme nor reason to its occurrence in terms of size of tree, elevation, soil type etc. usually the wood is sound, just stained. i dunno what causes it.

[Dengue]

The three letter code is MSW

Thanks for this authorative reply, John. Is there a mistake in the 3 letter code

[Old Croc]

The forestry bible says Silkwood, Maple, MSW but everyone that I know calls it Maple Silkwood. That's the problem with common names.
Rgds,
Crocy

[Nanigai]

Hey Dengue, try what others do with flaws and work out a way to make it a feature. :D

or firewood.:(

Cheers, Ian

[mark david]

Hi Dengue,I think your timber is not poor quality and has some nice features in my opinion.
The wood might even be too bland without the brown colouration.
Should look really nice when finished and polished up. :2tsup:

[John.G]

Thanks for this authorative reply, John. Is there a mistake in the 3 letter code


I'm about to give the answer I really hate to give: I no longer claim to know.

Theres four sets of Nomenclature standards relevant to this that I know of.

In order of appearance ( and superannuation as they were replaced by later occuring ones) they would be

British Commonwealth Standard... dates from around the 1920's I believe.

Technical Pamphlet (I think its #2) Queensland Timber Nomenclature, its an old forestry notice from the early 1950's. There are about three copies in the state I think. I've seen it cited but never seen a copy. If you know where to lay hands on it I'd love to copy it.

As whateverthenumber: timber nomenclature Australia NZ or something.... and its got no code system in it. Ive got a copy of that somewhere in this mess I call an office. Found it... no three letter code, the preferred common name is New Guinea Maple. The Australian Standard being the most recent standard means that technically theres no such thing as a three letter code anymore anyway I believe. But dont quote me on it.

The other one that I can state with certainty is the PNG standard and thats got MSW on it.

I've worked in two mills in FNQ other then my own. One used MSW, the other used MSQ.
I know a guy sitting on a shed full of old Foxwood packs (and I mean a big shed full) they've got MSQ on packs of both brayleana and pimenteliana. The way I've read various bits and pieces they often cite both together and it could well be that you can box them together as MSQ. I dont know.

I've seen packs in a yard in Melbourne that the guy said were pimenteliana, and they looked like it to me... RH packs out of West Irian and those mongrel bastardsguys are serious operators... they had SSW on the side. I thought that would have been Putt's Pine/ Silver SIlkwood/ F. accuminata. Maybe you use a different acronym in Indonesia?

I put QMP on a pack of brayleana. I've seen MAQ on that at an agents in Sydney.


At the end of all this the only thing I can say for sure is I use MSW and QMP, and I'm slightly dyslexic so sometimes get the right letters in the wrong places.:doh:

[John.G]

And while I'm thinking about it, if you're really unhappy about the discolouration and all you want it is those four little bits there give me some dimensions. I got a bit stacked away and I'll take it down on my next trip into TSV or get it to you some other way.

[Fuzzie]

I'd assume something written as "Silkwood, Maple" is never spoken as "silkwood comma maple" it would always come out as "Maple Silkwood". Just like the drill sergeant said "surname first, first name second, other names last".

[Mobyturns]

John, Dengue has the red silky oak wide boards that you gave me.

I would love to see a list of three letter timber codes as I have some timber sourced from a timber supplier in Cairns when they closed down due to retirement of one of the partners. Some codes I don't recognize.

[John.G]

John, Dengue has the red silky oak wide boards that you gave me.

I would love to see a list of three letter timber codes as I have some timber sourced from a timber supplier in Cairns when they closed down due to retirement of one of the partners. Some codes I don't recognize.

Thats like two months back and except for the sliver ash I cant remember what you took.:doh: Fair bit on my plate ATM and Mary away dont help things at all.

Kick us a list of what codes you've got. Some of them I might be able to help with.

[Dengue]

Below is my email to the Qld Dept of Agriculture and Fisheries. Their Senior Scientist has replied below, and supports the comments made by John.G above



I would like to get your comments on the piece of Silkwood Maple I am using (same pics posted in initial thread).

Q1. Is is called "Maple Silkwood" Maple (MSM) or just Silkwood Maple (SM)?

Q2. What causes the unsightly markings in the timber, as seen below?
The one on the right appears to be a stain of some sort. Have planed and extensively sanded it before cutting to size, but the marks are throughout the timber

Q3. A few boards of Silkwood Maple that I have purchased from a couple of different places up north are full of borer holes and had to be thrown away. Some of the borer holes had a grey stain around them. Is this normal for this type of timber?

Hoping you can help,


Here is the reply I received this morning:

Q1. Maple silkwood MSW (Qld government harvesting and marketing code), Flindersia pimenteliana.

Q2. The dark lines and patch are parenchyma (soft tissue) which can occur in irregular rings in this species. These cells are a part of normal wood tissue (in the related species Crow’s ash they are white).

Q3. The borer holes you describe are most likely caused by pinhole/shothole borers of the a Ambrosia beetle group. These are green timber pests which won’t cause any further degrade once the boards are seasoned- they don’t feed on the wood. The dark stain is caused by the ambrosia fungus which grows on the walls on the beetle tunnels and provides food for the adult beetles and larvae. Rapid extraction post-harvest and quick conversion and seasoning are the most effective means of limiting damage.

[Fuzzie]

(in the related species Crow’s ash they are white).


:oo: My Maple Silkwood is soft, brown, light in weight and works easily. A bit of Crow's ash I have is hard, yellow, heavy, greasy and very different to work. What's the relationship? They're both trees? :D

[Old Croc]

John and Moby,
I can't multi quote on this tablet. What I posted earlier was straight from Technical Pamphlet No 2 sitting on my table.
John you can buy a copy by doing a Google search and typing in Technical Pamphlet No2 Queensland Timbers, and it takes you to Trove, the National Library of Australia and it gives you the option to buy a copy online.
Moby if you want you can do the same or view mine.
The photos Dengue posted is fairly typical of Maple Silkwood, its my favorite timber, I have about 5 tonnes of it.
Rgds,
Crocy.

[Dengue]

Hi Old Croc, tried to PM you re this thread, but your inbox is full