# Milling Box Elder



## LumberStacker (May 22, 2015)

Hey guys, I recently joined the forum and haven't had the chance to post any pictures of my mill yet. I finally found a good chance to post some pics with some box elder that I've been milling. And since it seems like there is a wealth of knowledge on box elder on this forum, I was wondering if anybody would be able to answer a few questions that I have. 

This is the first time that I've milled box elder and some of my lumber seems to have exceptional color right off the mill. The deep red streaks begin to fade as it dries and I imagine that this should be expected, but some of boards that I pulled off a week or two ago have faded dramatically. I've kept all of the boards out of the sun, but was just wondering if there is anything else that I can do to help the wood keep its original color. 

On another note, have any of you ever kiln dried box elder before using it? The guy I got these logs from would like me to make some tongue and groove boards that he can use for his own projects. I currently have the boards on sticks and they appear to be drying pretty quick, but don't know if kiln drying would be a better option for this particular use. 



 

 



Thanks in advance for any input.

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 5 | Way Cool 5


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## kazuma78 (May 22, 2015)

Nice Flame Box Elder you have there! @Kevin is the FBE master so Im sure he can answer your questions but from my experience the color will come back when you plane it down or sand it.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Kevin (May 22, 2015)

Nice FBE! That's the closest I've seen to how most of mine flame up. Most of the FBE up north does not produce that particular flame pattern very often. On the fading, it will all pop right back out once you start planing it and then again when the final sanding or scraping is done just prior to applying the finish. I used to kiln dry it but it sells just as fast without having to so I pretty much rarely do it now.

I always seal all sides of my FBE because it will get micro checks in any portion of the board where there's any discoloration at all, other than the red and very white colors. If there's any cream color or ANY other coloring in the wood other than the bright red or bright white, it will check and/or collapse during drying even if the off-coloring is mixed in with the red and/or white. Sealing it minimizes this. You don't have to kiln dry it but you can't kill the bugs unless you do. Anytime someone buys a lot from me and I know they're going to use it for furniture or house paneling or anything other than thin-walled turnings I warn them about the bugs, and if they decide they want to pay extra for me to dry it and put it through a bug kill I will but I charge accordingly.

Nice mill, my first mill was a Norwood LM 2000 with a Briggs Vanguard 23 HP. I sold it to a couple up north to build there own home with. Good luck!


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## LumberStacker (May 22, 2015)

Thanks a lot for the advice and the good news! Its good to hear that I'll be able to get that color back. 

Kevin, when you talk about sealing the wood, do you mean with wax like you would see on a turning blank or is it some other type of finish?


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## kazuma78 (May 22, 2015)

He is probably using anchor seal.


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## Kevin (May 22, 2015)

I prefer Anchorseal 2 a.k.a. ASII a.k.a. AS2. 

You can get it from the manufacturer and the best way to buy is through them in a 5 gallon bucket. I think up north they call them 5 gallon pails though. 

If you're going to be milling a bunch of FBE you need to buy it by the 5 gallon bucket because most of your FBE needs to be sealed on all faces. 

I always just call and order (I have to actually weird deal but the online ordering isn't available to most states). You live in a state where you get free shipping. I have to pay shipping. 

http://uccoatings-2.myshopify.com/collections/anchorseal-2

888-363-2388


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## LumberStacker (May 22, 2015)

Great, thanks a lot for all of the info.

And it looks like I may have lucked out with that one tree. I have only seen flames that nice from one set of three logs. But, hey, I'm just thankful to have that one in the bunch.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Kevin (May 22, 2015)

LumberStacker said:


> And it looks like I may have lucked out with that one tree. I have only seen flames that nice from one set of three logs.



Where there's one like that, there's probably more. Tell him to keep looking.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## woodtickgreg (May 22, 2015)

Nice mill! Thanks for sharing the pics!


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## David Van Asperen (May 25, 2015)

Great looking mill and some mighty fine wood. Thanks for sharing.
Dave


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