"rjdankert" wrote in message
ups.com...


http://www.flickr.com/photos/10171074@N02/

1.) Is this wood box elder? I did a fair amount for research on the
web. My understanding is that the heartwood should be a cream color.
The heartwood on this piece is a golden color and there are no red
streeks. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the tree's leaves.

2.) If not box elder what else might it be and what might it be used
for?

3.) The piece that I cut will be cut for two bowl blanks that I am
going to try to turn in the next few days. At this point I don't know
what I'm going to do with the rest. What is the best way to keep
these if I decide I might want to make something from this wood? I
don't know what or when.

Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions.


Looks like the bark and wood of the local _Acer negundo_, or box elder to
me. The red seems to be more a result of circulation problems in the tree
caused by damage or twisting grain that anything else. At least that's
where it's found normally around here. Yours looks straight as a string and
vigorous. Better climate or better sunlight down there, I guess.

Great stuff to learn on, as it cuts like butter when wet, and behaves well
after drying. Finishes like glass.

My best advice is to rough it into bowls as soon as possible if you want to
preserve the pale color. Put them in the basement after roughing at or
above 70% RH and let them cure. You'll want to give them about 3/4 of an
inch wall thickness for 12" bowls, and don't make the sides too steep nor
the bottoms too broad. You'll lose about a half inch in diameter across the
grain, which will allow you to turn the black mildew, if you have any, off
the endgrain. You'll be able to turn stable wood after September and have
them ready before Christmas, easily. If you have a compressor, blow the
excess unbound water out of the wood (inside out) after roughing to help it
through the mildew-growing moisture range. I've had good success with the
technique on soft maple, where black mildew can really ruin your day. Tip
is from a Packer Backer, but it seems to work anyway....