Thread: Pink Maple??

bits of bark... grain... spalting into the transitional wood...pinkish colour underneath... add lyctid susceptible to the list of things we know.

Rose alder at a guess based on the pictures - but without density etc and being able to smell it/ taste it/lick it it could be several species.

Ambrosia Maple? Pink fades to brown with age. Is a fungus thing so spalting makes sense.

Thank you both for the suggestions – I am continuing the research and appreciate you giving me some leads to follow up. I have also been taking the small piece to some specialised timber merchants for suggestions – both were stumped.

I have not seen either of the two woods you both mention so can only look at images in books and online. This is never a good way to work out a wood species.

The smell is nothing interesting – and I draw the line at tasting and licking the piece!



Does anyone else have any suggestions?

I'd say it is Maple, probably from the US. I think Tea Lady is on the money, it is probably Ambrosia Maple, starts off pink and turns brown. Ambrosia is just a term for the infection/spalting colouring rather than a different species (see here for more info http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...20ambrosia.htm). You can see from the link it can take many different forms with the extensive figuring sought after. Attached is a bit I have - no Vicki you can't have some

Thanks for the info, Neil. So does that mean I missed out on the nice figure in this piece?

Your piece and those on the Hobbit House website look great. I use that site quite a lot – it is excellent how there are so many different images of each species.

The photo of your piece won't enlarge when I click on it. It is hard to see how big it is – are you sure you can't slice of a tiny bit????

Cheers

Originally Posted by seasidevicki

The photo of your piece won't enlarge when I click on it. It is hard to see how big it is

Hmm I think it was 80mm sq x 250 intended for small pepper grinder + slice for box.

Originally Posted by seasidevicki

... are you sure you can't slice of a tiny bit????

I have a few pieces that looked like they were attached with a bright pink texta. It fades with age and/or light exposure. Maybe if the top layer of the wood is shaved off you might reveal a bit of colour again. Not sure. Its pink like a flower is pink. Even if you dry flowers carefully they all go brownish eventually. Thus is the way of flowers.

Originally Posted by tea lady

I have a few pieces that looked like they were attached with a bright pink texta...

Can't say I have ever seen the maple with that bright a pink, sure you are not thinking about flame box elder like these pepper grinder blanks of mine (sorry Vicki these are also not available )

Flame box elder1.jpgflame box elder 2.jpg

Those look wonderful.
Oh Neil you are such a tease!


I have already cut into and sanded offcuts of the slab but unfortunately it is grey and plain all the way through. It doesn't look like it ever had such interesting markings.