What's wrong with this wood?

[Nick Shattuck]

I've tried searching for this on google but I'm coming up empty, probably because I don't know what to call it. I bought some air dried rough sawn ash (guy claims 3-years) I found on craigslist and I decided to mill some of it tonight and after several passes over the jointer it came out really splotchy. I'm kind of new at this so I don't know why it looks like this and I'm hoping someone can tell me. I've always bought kiln-dried wood, is this something to do with the drying method? Admitted, this wood is pretty bad and full of knots and some boards have flaky wood sections that may be rot. If it wasn't dusk when I bought it I might have been able to see it a little better and know not to buy it.

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[John K Jordan]

It looks like what some people call "white rot". I haven't studied it but it may be caused by a fungus the wood staying too wet and warm, perhaps from being stacked tightly when wet and not stickered to dry, or even left out in the rain.

I'm late heading out to feed the llamas this morning but I found this which might be useful: https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?67984-Brown-Rot-White-Rot-and-other-Wood-Pestilence

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

A lot of Ash is dying on the stump due to the emerald ash borer. It could be that the tree your lumber came from was dead when harvested and decay had started.

[Bill Space]

Here is is a photo of some ash harvested from a standing dead tree that I cut down several years after it died. It shows something similar to the picture you posted, but in this case was quite attractive. At least to my eye... :)

(Sorry about the rotation of the pic)

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Bill

[John C Cox]

It's similar to spalted maple. The wood has started to rot....

It's pretty stuff and makes beautiful furniture - but I feel alot better about it after it has had a ride in a kiln....

[Nick Shattuck]

It looks like what some people call "white rot". I haven't studied it but it may be caused by a fungus the wood staying too wet and warm, perhaps from being stacked tightly when wet and not stickered to dry, or even left out in the rain.

I'm late heading out to feed the llamas this morning but I found this which might be useful: https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?67984-Brown-Rot-White-Rot-and-other-Wood-Pestilence

JKJ

Thanks for the link! I learned a lot from reading that!

[David Helm]

One correction to Bob's terrific post. The last photo and comments about powder post beetles is inaccurate. True PPBs (lyctids by species) attack hardwoods. The other beetle, which is common in the Maritime Northwest, is the Anobiid. It attacks softwoods (i.e. Construction lumber). They only require a moisture content of 13% and, over time, can cause significant damage to structural members. One of the worst places, for obvious reasons, is the crawl space where posts, beams and joists are subject to relatively high moisture content.