Replies

1. 
   frenchy | May 04, 2008 08:14am | #1

   PheasantHunter. 

     I've got the red streaks in some of my boxelder.  I put it in place pretty green and it's still there..

2. 
   aew | May 04, 2008 10:57pm | #2

   I cut some box elder several years ago that was streaked with red and blue and dried it as 1/2" slabs without paying much attention to how rapidly it dried and the color is still there; maybe not as dark as when freshly cut but certainly not severely faded. At the time I wasn't smart enough to seal the ends of the boards either so it likely dried pretty quickly and maybe I lucked out. Had I applied the common practice of sealing the ends immediately, maybe it would have dried more slowly and lost more color. Without a kiln, I'm not sure how quickly you can dry 3" stock. The drying time seems to increase almost exponentially with thickness rather than linearly.

3. 
   saschafer | May 05, 2008 07:54pm | #3

   There was an article on box elder in FWW #161 (Feb 2003). It didn't say anything about drying technique affecting the color, but it did mention that the red color is very photosensitive, and that preserving the color requires keeping the piece in low light (so you could use it inside a cabinet that spends most of its time with the doors closed, for example).

   -Steve

    

4. 
   JsHerbel | May 06, 2008 03:00am | #4

   There really isn’t a way to preserve that striking red color unless you keep the finished piece in a blanket, down in the basement, and only bring it out under new moons. A finish with good UV protection, like spar varnish, will prolong the degradation. Of course, spar varnish would also darken it a lot. How you dry the wood really doesn't matter because while the outside will turn from red to brown, when you plane or sand it, it exposes the red again.

    

   Here’s a photo of a cabinet I made with a boxelder panel. The picture was taken within a month (probably more like two weeks) and the red had already turned brown. I don’t know how long it stayed red inside as it sold.

    

   View Image

    

   http://www.ithacawoodworker.com

    

    

5. 
   SgianDubh | May 15, 2008 01:10am | #5

   I am looking for a high quality fairly close up image of red stained/streaked box elder for a timber technology manuscript I'm working on. If you or anyone else have, or could take, a photograph or high resolution electronic image (300 DPI TIFF format) of this I would very much appreciate getting a copy of it.

   The manuscript I'm working on is intended for publication and I would need your written permission to use your photograph. For granting such permission I can offer you the usual author's acknowledgement of your help, and your name would be set alongside the image noting that you were the photographer. Sadly I'm unable to offer used folding beer tokens in exchange for such help.

   The staining is thought to be caused by the sap staining Fusarium reticulatum fungus by some researchers, and the image is for a section on fungi and wood in my manuscript. 

   I can be contacted off-line via the Options tage below or by following the link to my website, but of course you could also respond in this thread. Thanks. Slainte.

   Richard Jones Furniture

1. 
   Ron01960 | May 15, 2008 06:08pm | #6

   Richard, you may find what your looking for here. These folks are very helpful.http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/forums/sawdry.plbest of luck in your search.Ron

1. 
   SgianDubh | May 16, 2008 12:38am | #7

   Thanks for the tip Ron, although I've actually been a member of Woodweb for about tenyears. I think I've only posted in any of the forums there perhaps two or three times. I'm not known over there because I've remained pretty silent!

   What I was really hoping was that PheasantHunter might see my message and be willing to pop out to his red stained box elder log and photograph it for me. If I'm being truthful I'd be happy if anyone here is able to get a photograph of what I'm looking as a good image would illustrate my discussion on the topic.

   I thought I'd ask because people have seen me posting here for years and I hoped someone might be able to help out. If nothing transpires I might try asking at one of the other very limited number of forums I visit and see what response I get. As a last resort I might even try WoodWeb, ha, ha. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture

1. 
   Ron01960 | May 17, 2008 08:29pm | #8

   Richard, I googled box elder lumber. http://www.woodworkingtalk.com

1. 
   SgianDubh | May 23, 2008 11:47pm | #9

   Thanks for that link Ron. I sent an email, but there's been no reply, but there was some quite spectacularly stained pieces of box elder at that website.

   However, PheasantHunter, the original poster contacted me off forum. He kindly  took another digital photo of his piece of box elder at high resolution and sent it to me. It shows exactly what I needed to illustrate my text.

   So, my thanks go to PheasantHunter for his help, and thanks Ron for yours too.

   Now, who lives down in LA that would be willing to get shots of cypress knees for me, a photo of some mangrove stilt roots, or a banyan tree's pillar roots reaching down from the branches, ha, ha? Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture

2. 
   saschafer | May 29, 2008 01:41am | #10

   How about cypress knees from a relict population of baldcypress in the Black Swamp region of northern Ohio?

   View Image

   -Steve

    

   
3. 
   SgianDubh | May 29, 2008 10:19am | #11

   That would suit me just grand Steve.

   Do you have a high resolution image you'd let me use granting me 'non-exclusive' publishing rights? Something about 300 or 400 DPI in TIFF or JPEG format, 1200 or 1600 pixels on the long edge?

   Acknowledgements and mention of your contribution as outlined earlier in this thread is what I'm offering. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture

4. 
   saschafer | May 29, 2008 08:20pm | #16

   On its way across the ocean....

   -Steve

    

5. 
   SgianDubh | May 29, 2008 08:48pm | #17

   Got it. Much appreciated. Will reply later via email. Must dash right now. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture

6. 
   eddiefromaustralia | May 29, 2008 01:25pm | #12

   If you don't get mangrove pictures, let me know Richard.I've got a mangrove swamp about a mile away.Cheers,eddie

7. 
   SgianDubh | May 29, 2008 01:44pm | #13

   Thanks for the offer Eddie, but I was lucky as PheasantHunter, who started the thread I think,  had a good image of mangrove roots, including a basking alligator, that he's kindly allowed me to use. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture

8. 
   joinerswork | May 29, 2008 03:12pm | #14

   Richard,

   I'm a pine, not a cypress.  I'll take some pics of my knees if you want, but fair warning, sightings of same have made strong men weep and ladies swoon.

   Ray

9. 
   SgianDubh | May 29, 2008 08:02pm | #15

   Hmm? Thanks Ray. They may be a bit too knobbly I'd guess.

   And shouldn't it be that they've made strong women weep and men swoon? Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture