Ambrosia Maple....why so cheap?

[Dan Drager]

OK, I have seen ambrosia maple before. I understand the colors come from the beetle of the same name. But I have never worked with it before. I was killing some time between meeting last week at the Woodcraft in West Allis, WI. and saw a stack that really caught my eye. I never buy wood there as the cost is far more than I usually pay for wood at auctions, my main source for wood. I was prepared to cough up a bunch for a single board until I saw it was only $2.80 BF. I was stunned. I "figured" maple for under $3 bf? How could this be? So I bought about 40 bf and went off happy. Maybe one of you can enlighten me where the store clerk could not. Why is it so cheap? Less than the cost of clear maple, hard or soft, and way less than any other figured or spalted maple. Is it the bug holes?

I plan on using it in a few boxes and the door panels for a small cabinet I've got in mind. Anything I need to know about working with it?

Thanks in advance for any clarifications or help.

[Mike Parzych]

I've always been surprised by that fact too. I imagine it's cheaper because most people are interested only in maple with the customary look.

[Chris Barton]

Part of the reason is that the only primary commercial use of ambrosia maple is for unseen frame pieces in upholstered furniture. Aside from that, it's strictly a hobbiest product. I have been able to buy AM for as little as $2/bf.

[Joe Jensen]

Part of the reason is that the only primary commercial use of ambrosia maple is for unseen frame pieces in upholstered furniture. Aside from that, it's strictly a hobbiest product. I have been able to buy AM for as little as $2/bf.
Do you know how stable it is?..joe

[Stephan Borszcz]

Do you know how stable it is?..joeI've had really good luck with it and have been using more and more of it. I've made many drawers out of it. I started using it as a secondary wood because here in Indiana it is even cheaper than poplar... $1.19/bf. Next I'll be trying some small tables or maybe a desk to see if I can somehow use the streakiness as a design element. It is softer than maple... which I actually like because it is easier to work with than maple... but it is also hard enough that some people around here use it as a flooring material.
-Stephan

[Gary Herrmann]

I haven't done any flatwork with it yet, but I have turned it. I'll probably wind up making a box or two out of a particularly colorful board I picked up.

[Alan Turner]

Someone told me it is sometimes called "WHND" maple, standing for worm holes, no defects. I got some out of Md. for 70 cents b.f., about 12" wide and 16' long. I still have some of it. So does the mill. Edrich is the name, if I recall correctly, and it is in or very near Baltimore.

[James Phillips]

I work with it alot because it is one of the coolest "character" woods I have ever seen and it is very cheap. It is as good as any other maple. Very Stable. I am building a desk out of it and walnut now.

[Scott Thornton]

Here is a picture of dining table set...

http://www.blueridgewoodworkers.com/ambrosia_maple_dining_set.html

[Don Bullock]

At $18,555.00, I'd say that someone is making a lot of money on the table and chairs if the wood is as cheap as some of you have been buying it for.:eek:

[Scott Thornton]

At $18,555.00, I'd say that someone is making a lot of money on the table and chairs if the wood is as cheap as some of you have been buying it for.:eek:


Damn...I didn't scroll down far enough to see the price...ouch...you could a Thos Moser table and chairs cheaper than that!

[jonathan snyder]

I would suspect that when the logs are graded, it is considered a defect, and that is reflected in the price, but hey I've been wrong before!!!

Jonathan