Is This Unusual?

[BrokenOlMarine]

Was planing a piece of wood for the Granddaughters toybox build yesterday, and planed some bark off the end... and the planer revealed something I have never seen.  It looks as if the bark stained the wood underneath in the coolest pattern.  I cut off that end section and intend to use it in a box top.  I won't do much to it other than frame in it as a top.  Don't want to risk going deeper and losing the pattern.  Anyone seen this before.  Looks like "scales."  I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the planer has left the wood glass smooth.
[attachment=5942]

[Steve N]

Kinda looks like what I would expect. It will take the bark off in layers just like it would on the wood. Then you will get enough purchase and it will just take all the bark off,you just didn't quite get that deep

[BrokenOlMarine]

Steve,

The bark there is gone... the wood appears to be stained. But, it could be that last fine layer.
Just thought it was cool.
Thanks man.

[fredhargis]

Isn't that called "bark inclusion"? The hardwood supplier I use gets a stiff premium for such a piece.

[Duane N]

Pretty cool/unique and a great idea using this for some sort of top for something.

[Steve N]

Jim possibly it is Angelstep

More here  I thought I was looking at bark.

Fred, this page has some good pics of bark inclusion. I've usually seen it in WO, but can be in anything. The bark is into the sapwood, and usually presents as holes in the lumber, often times they are at an angle to the face of the wood, so they look like sap marks, or discolorations. Similar to the bug splotches from Ambrosia beetle, but not a disease. Likely from growth on a hillside, or other twisted growth.

Bob Kloes lumber

BTW I would call what he has listed as Spalted Maple, Ambrosia Maple, or possibly just PPB damage. You can clearly see the bug centers.

[AHill]

What you're seeing is the edges of individual pieces of bark.  The darker color is dirt that gets in between the pieces of bark as the tree grows.  It's normal.

[BrokenOlMarine]

Thanks guys. I actually like that result. If thats normal in the pieces I would normally have tossed, I may SAVE them in the future when processing slabs with fading edges and attempt to duplicate this on a larger scale. Wish me luck.

[BrokenOlMarine]

While I was looking for the Walnut for the frame on the toy box...  I have all that wood stored in the old boathouse, and we bought a huge load from the daughter of a Cabinet Maker who has passed recently, and she showed us through three large barns and let us pick and choose.  It was hard to remember what all we had loaded, she just kept pointing and saying, take this, take this.  We had planned to go back down for another load; but the trip was overtaken by family events and we never made it back down before she sold the farm.

I have a lot of large slabs, and some are great pieces, but I brought these two smaller pieces back into the shop, and I left a piece of black cherry that I will go back down and bring up as soon as I remember to do so when it's daylight out. 


On the left is a Very nice piece of Curly Cherry, about 4' long, 6" wide and an inch thick.  To it's right is a gorgeous piece of Cocobolo that's 3' long and 4-1/2" wide and an inch thick.  The grain in that piece is VERY nice.  I will think long and hard before I start a project with either one.  Either project or projects will have to be special.  I have a number of smaller pieces of Cocobolo to make grips and knife scales from... this one would make a beautiful presentation box... but that might be a waste.
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[Paul K. Murphy]

It is not angelstep. Angelsteps are a curl figure, not a color feature.
Not angelsteps.