Maple Sanding Assistance

Steve in VA

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I'm working on another hollow form, this one is out of green maple I just cut this weekend. I thought I'd give turning a hollow form out of wet wood a shot and see how it distorts. I turned it yesterday, and wrapped it in stretch wrap with shavings on the inside as there was a smoking project I still needed to finish last night. No issues at all with cracking and not much movement at all.

As I went to sand it tonight, I noticed a "stripe", for lack of a better word, around the diameter where the grain seems to disappear. The stripe is very noticable; we'll see how it shows up in the pictures. Anyway, I proceeded to start standing yet the stripe is not clearing up. What's interesting is that the stripe starts to come directly out of an area with a lot of swirls / chatoyance / patterns.

Any advice on how to sand this to enhance the look vs. making it worse? I went ahead and wrapped it again in stretch wrap until I get some guidance from the pros! I assume that will help slow down the drying as much as possible as well to hopefully prevent and cracks.

One other thing I'm curious about. Right at the base there is a very distinct and sharp green line bordering a dark area. The green is very vibrant and I've tried to capture it in the picture but I'm not sure it does it justice. What's that from? It looks similar to a distinct spalting zone line, but again it's bright green. I have a few other chunks from the same tree, so I'm looking forward to getting into it more as I think this one has a lot of potential.

Thanks in advance!

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Mr. Peet

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Did you happen to notice if the line seemed to move as to turned the diameter down? This time of year there is a lot of moisture transfer from the roots to the crown. There can be different moisture percentages from the pith to the bark. The white wood usually has the moist variability. The spinning piece also forces moisture movement. Does the line / band seem to disappear / fade in if you wiped over it with a damp cloth?
 

Jonkou

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Have a theory you can check to validate, the two stripes are the natural color of the wood and the remainder is beginnings of mold buildup due to wrapping in plastic and leaving in the dark. The two stripped areas may be thinner, or were single wrapped vs double and the disparity in drying conditions looks like a stripe. The green on the bottom is definitely mold.

Have had fresh rough cut maple get nasty moldy in just a few days while in a 6 mil black trash bag waiting to get billeted. It doesn’t take long when the ideal conditions of plastic wrap so moisture can’t escape and dark are provided.

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Steve in VA

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Thank you both!

@Mr. Peet Mark - I hadn't thought about wiping the piece down with some water. Great idea and I'll give that a shot this afternoon.

@Jonkou John - Interesting thought, though my gut is it's not the beginning of mold as the stripes are still there even after sanding the entire piece quite a bit. I'm no expert, so maybe it is and I just need to sand it a more but I started with 220 as I had a good finish coming off the tool. I then backed down to 180, and eventually 120, yet the stripes stayed. I'd assume that sanding with those grits would remove any traces of mold coloring?

And as far as the green colored line goes, that appeared as soon as the parting tool got to the depth. Could it be mold on the inside of a solid piece? I've never seen that before, but it clearly didn't develop overnight or due to the stretch wrap.

I removed the stretch wrap this morning and now have it covered with a paper bag until I can get back to it later today. Will report what comes next.

Thanks again for your help!!
 

Steve in VA

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Quick update that it may just be a combo of the wood and current moisture content. I tried wiping it wipe a damp rag and these picture show how it now looks when wet. I'm going to let it completely dry and go from there. Fingers crossed that leaving it attached to the tenon doesn't lead to cracking!!

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Mr. Peet

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Thank you both!

@Mr. Peet Mark - I hadn't thought about wiping the piece down with some water. Great idea and I'll give that a shot this afternoon.

@Jonkou John - Interesting thought, though my gut is it's not the beginning of mold as the stripes are still there even after sanding the entire piece quite a bit. I'm no expert, so maybe it is and I just need to sand it a more but I started with 220 as I had a good finish coming off the tool. I then backed down to 180, and eventually 120, yet the stripes stayed. I'd assume that sanding with those grits would remove any traces of mold coloring?

And as far as the green colored line goes, that appeared as soon as the parting tool got to the depth. Could it be mold on the inside of a solid piece? I've never seen that before, but it clearly didn't develop overnight or due to the stretch wrap.

I removed the stretch wrap this morning and now have it covered with a paper bag until I can get back to it later today. Will report what comes next.

Thanks again for your help!!
Wonder if wiping with a clorox wipe, if it would be a wise step to counter mold possibilities.?.
 

Steve in VA

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Thanks Mark! I wouldn't think that would hurt anything would it?

That said, I really don't see any signs at all of mold or mildew. From time to time I see that on bowls that I'm drying in paper bags, but don't see anything close to it (either dots or light grey areas) at all.
 

Mr. Peet

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Thanks Mark! I wouldn't think that would hurt anything would it?

That said, I really don't see any signs at all of mold or mildew. From time to time I see that on bowls that I'm drying in paper bags, but don't see anything close to it (either dots or light grey areas) at all.
Should not hurt, but use the regular wipes, not the scented ones.
 

FLQuacker

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Maple is horrid for that grain sanding appearance. Ive all but quit turning maple pot calls because of it. You cant hide it....the more ya sand it the worse it gets!
 

Steve in VA

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Maple is horrid for that grain sanding appearance. Ive all but quit turning maple pot calls because of it. You cant hide it....the more ya sand it the worse it gets!

Yeah, that seems to be what I'm experiencing with this one. I set it aside to dry for 4-5 days and will attack it again after that.
 
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