Thread: Red Ash Nightmare!

I love Red Ash, generally an orangy heartwood (that turns browny later) with whitish sapwood often spalted. I find it similar to Maple but a bit harder. You probably got it from Tex Timbers, I was speaking to him today, he said he sold a heap and only had some left-overs for market I was at today.

My guess would be the void was filled with some sort of sap that then turned to powder as it dried. Could be some sort of bug hollow though, they also love the stuff, was there any holes leading into void?

Originally Posted by dai sensei

I love Red Ash, generally an orangy heartwood (that turns browny later) with whitish sapwood often spalted. I find it similar to Maple but a bit harder. You probably got it from Tex Timbers, I was speaking to him today, he said he sold a heap and only had some left-overs for market I was at today.

My guess would be the void was filled with some sort of sap that then turned to powder as it dried. Could be some sort of bug hollow though, they also love the stuff, was there any holes leading into void?

No, there weren't. It was the strangest thing. It was like the pithy part in the middle of the knot had widened and then pinched off right at both the top and bottom of the bowl blank so that it was completely enclosed in the ~80cm disc. Really unique.

In all honesty I wouldn't have been too disappointed if I had a few more blanks of the stuff. It does look nice. I would just avoid the epic knots!

The pepper grinder on the right is Red Ash, a mix of the sapwood and heartwood. It too had a big void that I filled with resin

Originally Posted by dai sensei

The pepper grinder on the right is Red Ash, a mix of the sapwood and heartwood. It too had a big void that I filled with resin

Lookin good! And yeah, that's definitely the same wood I was working with.

.... Anyway... The reason for the post is because I experienced something crazy while turning it. As I got into the knot, it opened up into a cavity that was completely filled with a white, chalky, soapy substance. I'm not talking about a hairline crack. It was a genuine opening a couple of cm across that was PACKED with this whitish, powdery, pseudo-stone. It looked like... ash almost....

Hi Luke,

This species has saponins (soap-like chemicals) in the leaves but its unlikely, tho’ possible, these or metabolites of it could collect in the wood cavities. Sometimes, minerals eg calcium oxalate or carbonate or silica accumulates in wood grain / fissures and cavities, Eg in black (northern) coolabah this happens and fine white (mineralisation) thread can be seem in the black wood grain.

Other species (ebonies, inland rosewood and wilga) often have hollow centre in which white deposits of fungas can soemtimes be found. It's this fungus I believe that cause the (variously) colourful heartwoods... black, dark red, green etc. In Alphitonia the pinkish orange heartwood may be also due to such a fungus.

[Box elder attracts a pink fungus or product from a fungus, see below. A study by Blanchette provided evidence that red stain in boxelder was not caused by a fungus (Fusarium reticulatum) as previously thought. "Instead, the stain appears to be produced by the tree as a non-specific host response".

“Future research should also determine how microorganisms, such as F. solani, might stimulate and enhance pigment production.”

http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.or...rch/redstain/]

Yep, I think its time some research was done on the causes of heartwood colour by wood loving fungi.

Euge

modified to make technical corrections on Box Elder