Spalted Sycamore Maple

[Art Kelly]

This is completely different.

I found a stack of this in a woodpile in North Georgia. The spalting pattern runs the whole way up the trunk and is much more symmetric in most places. Where it's symmetric, the cross section reveals a pattern about like a cannabis leaf. I've seen pictures.

(I started with the non-symmetric piece as a "look-see.") The tree was living and otherwise healthy before it was cut down, and you can see in the pic how wet is was.

It's cracking around the tenon, which I left long, just in case.

Anyone seen anything like this?

[Gary Conklin]

Ambrosia Soft Maple, the streaks are caused by a beetle.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I agree with Gary.

If your wood is cracking because it is drying out while you are turning it - get a spray bottle and fill it with water. Spray the areas that are drying to keep them wet until you are done turning - then dry your bowl!

Good luck with it! Should be some really nice looking bowls!

[John Hart]

...Where it's symmetric, the cross section reveals a pattern about like a cannabis leaf. I've seen pictures...?

Yeah...I saw one of those pictures too...when I was in college.:D

Yep...definitely ambrosia maple. The colors don't fade...it should turn out very nice.

[John Keeton]

I agree on the Ambrosia, but they do also attack the Sycamore - though apparently not with as much frequency. I am not sure what you have is Sycamore (check the bark), but Ambrosia Sycamore can have a beautiful color, BTW.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=144079&thumb=1&d=1267744232 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=144079&d=1267744232)

[Roland Martin]

Agree with it being ambrisia maple and have seen "a few" pictures myself:)

[David E Keller]

I found a stack of this in a woodpile... The spalting pattern runs the whole way up the trunk

You lucky dog! That's great looking stuff.

Be sure and use dust protection... If you inhale the cannabis pattern, it may affect your judgement. On second thought, forget the dust collection... inhaling it may lead to more freedom and creativity(and the munchies so I've heard:D).

[Baxter Smith]

Nice looking stuff. Hope you post the finished bowl!

[Frank Van Atta]

What's cannabis?

[John Hart]

What's cannabis?

I don't know. I think it has something to do with Hannibal Lecter though.:confused:

[Art Kelly]

It's not regular sycamore for sure. The bark is like silver or swamp maple, not scaly like sycamore. The leaves don't match silver maple.

Leaf pic attached.

Using the Virginia Tech comprehensive dendrology site, http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/idit.htm , the tree that most closely resembles this tree is the sycamore maple. I never heard of it, but, hey--it's North Georgia in a long-time agricultural area. Probably brought over from Europe by the Hugenots.

I've seen lots of ambrosia maple on SMC, but never realized that those patterns run the whole way up the trunk. Pretty interesting.

The cracks I mentioned in the first piece showed up after a week in a bag with shavings, so I'll probably rough the rest of it and give it a DNA bath. It was harvested in late winter/early spring, so natural edges may work out, but probably not.:mad:

[Danny Hamsley]

What you have is red maple, Acer rubrum. It is a common tree in North Georgia and all over the Eastern US as well.

[Tom Sherman]

What's cannabis?

It's a rare newly discovered turning material, you have to turn it in paper though ... so I've heard