Box Elder Burl

[Sirfishalot]

Picked up a nice large chunk of Silver Maple Burl. I'll be selling most of it sinceI already have some drying out.

Jay T

 

[Kevin]

I've never seen BEB that looked like that.

 

[Kevin]

I moved this thread here for Jay. Maybe it is BEB but I never seen any like that. Would some of you burl experts care to take some guesses? @Mr. Peet et al

 

[phinds]

Given my extensive knowledge of wood, I can say with some confidence that it is definitely wood.

 

[Kevin]

Paul this is a stupid question but are end grain shots of burly curly wood useful? I figured they'd be all haywire and not look the same as straight grained.

 

[phinds]

Paul this is a stupid question but are end grain shots of burly curly wood useful? I figured they'd be all haywire and not look the same as straight grained.

Not a stupid question at all. One that I asked myself early on and did my best to find an answer to. The answer is "maybe". On woods with a lot of eyes, no, but on some woods where the "burl" is as more twisty grain than really irregular grain you can sometimes get a decent idea that it looks the very similar to the regular wood. Using it for ID would be hard but not impossible in every case.

 

[Mr. Peet]

I will concur with Paul, it is definitely wood. "Box elder" does not grow natively in Oregon and Washington state. It would have to have been an ornamental, or naturalized seed stock. Jay T. would have made things a lot easier if he had taken some before shots for those questioning species ID. I assume he was confident in ID and saw no reason for it. In the Poconos of PA, "box elder" can often have green, blue and black in the heartwood.

First glance, I thought "Norway maple". Jay, for us short of vision, could you snap a few shots of the glaucous twigs to confirm your statement for us. Thanks....

 

[Kevin]

"Box elder" does not grow natively in Oregon and Washington state.

I disagree. Acer Negundo is one of the most prolific species on the planet. Most of it isn't flamed but it is found almost everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't found on our moon one day but it is certainly growing wild in WA and OR even if you aren't aware of it.

 

[Mr. Peet]

No, I was not aware it was there. Someone should tell the USDA Forest Service and DEC of those two states that it is there since they only have it listed as an ornamental tree that can escape and become "naturalized". I was going by the historical natural range, not the manipulated and distorted range as created by man. I'm sure it is there, I just questioned the density. Maybe Jay can enlighten us on if it is an urban tree or other.

By the way Kevin, the moon is made of cheese, and cheese has too high of a salt content for "box elder" to properly develop roots. Just ask Paul....

 

[Sirfishalot]

Here's a shot of what it looked like before. I'm thinking now that it is some type of Maple.
And yeah, this was an urban tree from a site being clear for townhomes.
Thanks for your help guys.

JayT

 

[Sprung]

That looks similar to some maple burl that @Treecycle Hardwoods had posted sometime back. Don't know what kind of maple, or if my memory is working correctly, but that's what your pics reminded me of.

 

[Treecycle Hardwoods]

That is similar to what I had only my color pockets were much smaller.

 

[phinds]

Here's a shot of what it looked like before. I'm thinking now that it is some type of Maple.

Uh ... box elder IS some kind of maple so I'm not clear what the distinction is that you are making. Do you mean it is not box elder but rather some OTHER kind of maple?

 

[Mr. Peet]

Jay, if you get some twigs from the questionable, it would help. As said before, "box elder" has glaucous twigs toward the end of the branch tips. Usually on the last 1-3 years growth, this waxy coating easily wipes off. Twigs can be medium green, pale yellow, pink and even purple underneath the coating. "Bow elder" has fissured bark like an ash tree and a compound leaf structure, hence the other common name "Ash leaf maple". "Norway maple" terminal twigs have a milky white sap, more easily seen when breaking the leaf petiole from the bud. The bud scar with "milk up" in seconds. "Norway maple" also has fissured bark.

Your last picture shows bark more of a "platey" fashion. This trait is common of many, many maples. The large colored area of heartwood is common with several soft maples too. I wish you luck. Either way, a nice find.

Mark...

 

[JR Custom Calls]

Reminds me of what we call river maple here... Softer wood, seems it almost always had ambrosia beetles in it. Good shade trees. Regardless of what it turns out to be, looks like some nice wood.

 

[Mr. Peet]

Jonathan,
In your neck of the woods, "River maple" is most commonly "Silver maple" Acer sacharinum. The leaves are often 3 lobed with deep sinuses. There are several beautiful landscape varieties available.

Mark...

 

[Kevin]

That's a good point about the moon. I forgot it was made of cheese. I had neglected my Tang yesterday morning so I was not my usual infallible self.

 

[Sirfishalot]

Silver Maple looks like the strongest candidate.
Now I'm kicking myself for not cutting some hollow form size pieces!
Thanks for the help guys,

JayT