Gray streaks in curly maple?

[Jay Aubuchon]

What causes the gray streaks in this curly maple? They are confined to the rings close to the bark edge.

IMG_4827.jpg

Whatever the cause, what is your view of them? Do some woodworkers consider them as adding interesting character, or are they more or less universally rejected?

[Jim Morgan]

That is likely a fungal stain, with few if any effects on the structural properties of the maple. Chacun à ses goûts - aesthetics are personal. Finish a sample and see what you think.

[Christopher Charles]

Agreed, likely early stages of spalting. I love it when used carefully, but then I also like spicy food.

[Steve Demuth]

The trick is to see them as silver, rather than grey. Makes it ever so much prettier.

[George Yetka]

I got a bunch of equipment and the crates were wrapped with what I thought was pine but had these silver streaks, I had to take a bunch home.

[Brian Tymchak]

That looks like the the effects of Ambrosia beetle infestation. If you look up and down the board, there's a small bore hole for each of the gray streaks. Some people pay extra for ambrosia maple. I personally don't like it. Ambrosia + curl is a bonus though for those who like it.

[Jay Aubuchon]

The trick is to see them as silver, rather than grey.

Hey, I'm talking about streaks in the wood, not my hair!

[Mike Henderson]

Depends on what you're going to use the curly maple for. Personally, I would not want those streaks in most things I'd use curly maple for.

I use a fair amount of ambrosia maple and I don't find it expensive around here. I think the commercial people who use maple don't want the streaks of ambrosia so there's not that much demand for it, which makes it cheaper. I like the streaks.

Mike