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big maple

Started by Joey Grimes, September 25, 2016, 09:02:26 PM

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Joey Grimes

I sawed 2 big 8 foot long red maple logs this weekend that made about 600 bf I've never seen a maple that had so little heartwood is this only normal for old mature trees?

 
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Magicman

Heartwood or rotwood?  I seem to be seeing only ~2"-3" of sapwood, but it could be the lighting and picture angle.  ???
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Joey Grimes

They almost all white sapwood only about 4 inches of heartwood
94 woodmizer lt40 HD kabota 5200 ford 4000 94 international 4700 flatbed and lots of woodworking tools.

Clark

Heart in maple varies greatly by location. The better it's form and growth, typically the smaller the heart. Around here even a nice (for our area) maple will have a large heart.

Clark
SAF Certified Forester

WDH

I have seen a few with really small hearts like those.  Most of the ones that I see that are about 18" in diameter have a saucer sized heartwood. 
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Joey Grimes

Those were about 32 inches diameter small end
94 woodmizer lt40 HD kabota 5200 ford 4000 94 international 4700 flatbed and lots of woodworking tools.

WDH

Very nice.  My customer generally do not want any heartwood in maple boards. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

qbilder

Quote from: Magicman on September 25, 2016, 10:05:56 PM
Heartwood or rotwood?  I seem to be seeing only ~2"-3" of sapwood, but it could be the lighting and picture angle.  ???

What he ^ said. The heart isn't stained dark as is typical, so it doesn't contrast well with the sap. There is a visible sap line, though not very bold. Very nice maple you got there  cut_tree   
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Clark

Quote from: qbilder on September 27, 2016, 12:26:11 PM
Quote from: Magicman on September 25, 2016, 10:05:56 PM
Heartwood or rotwood?  I seem to be seeing only ~2"-3" of sapwood, but it could be the lighting and picture angle.  ???

What he ^ said. The heart isn't stained dark as is typical, so it doesn't contrast well with the sap. There is a visible sap line, though not very bold. Very nice maple you got there  cut_tree   

This is part of the problem with terms like "heartwood", "sapwood", etc. They can mean different things to different people. They may not indicate anything about the tree or they may. It depends on what "heart", "sap" or tree you are talking about.

For the purposes of grading maple, as WDH alluded to, it's all based on appearances. Nice, clear, white boards are what people typically want in maple. It's the dark stuff that typically comes from the center of the tree which knocks it down in price (although, in the right markets, it could increase the value). For maple, I see no practical point in trying call anything but the dark center of the tree "heartwood".

Clark
SAF Certified Forester

killamplanes

Those are good clear maple. Around here there usually mineral stain. From heart to bark. Atleast we call it mineral stain. Brown tear drop like dark spots..
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OffGrid973

Personally on maple I would consider anything an inch or two in from the bark all the way down and including the pith the heart wood.  Of course if you are looking for nice grain patterns check out the way the streaks run and cut accordingly. 

My tree guy calls them silver maple, I think it's ambrosia from the Beatle that causes the discoloration and my Vermont buyer calls it Tap maple cause the taps cause a simklar look to ambrosia.

Am I 100% wrong on all this?  It's what I have gained from word of mouth education.

Your Fellow Woodworker,
- Off Grid

Kbeitz

I keep this around for info when everyone starts throwing the big words around...





 
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MIsawyer

That is how most of our maple looks up here in Michigan

WDH

Sapwood in maple is white.  The heartwood is dark greenish or brown in maple.  Very distinct color difference. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

MIsawyer

Quote from: cwimer973 on September 27, 2016, 11:49:39 PM
Personally on maple I would consider anything an inch or two in from the bark all the way down and including the pith the heart wood.  Of course if you are looking for nice grain patterns check out the way the streaks run and cut accordingly. 

My tree guy calls them silver maple, I think it's ambrosia from the Beatle that causes the discoloration and my Vermont buyer calls it Tap maple cause the taps cause a simklar look to ambrosia.

Am I 100% wrong on all this?  It's what I have gained from word of mouth education.






Silver maple is just a name for Soft maple.  What you are talking about you are correct in calling it ambrosia maple

WDH

There are a couple of soft maples.  Red maple, Acer rubrum, and silver maple, Acer saccharinum.  They are distinctly different species.

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=1

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=5

The leaf shapes are very different. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Okrafarmer

give me all the rich, colored maple you can find. White maple is boring maple, especially if it's soft maple. We want all the heartwood and ambrosia stains we can find.

If I could find more maple like this (it was red maple) I'd be a happy okra-eatin sawyer.



 
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RayMO

Here in MO we call the best soft maple with the tiny little dark heart Silver Dollar Maple .
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