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Thought it was maple but....?

572 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Andybb, 
Andybb
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It might not be maple. On closer inspection, the light-colored part in the center of the tree is spalted and a little punky and has reddish patches that may actually be the original color of the tree like the outside edges of the slab. Those black patches are smooth as glass and hard as a rock in the middle of the spalt. It's local to the Pacific NW.
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I
Looks like some spalted sycamore I have. Sycamore is a member of the maple family, but I don't know what grows in that area.
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LesB
It is probably Bib Leaf Maple. Assuming it is local the other two common choices in the NW for that size is Ash and Alder. If it is soft it could be cotton wood but not likely. Even slimmer chance is is Myrtle (Calif. Bay Laurel)
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BurlyBob
I'm thinking Les might be right, alder. I've never heard of sycamore here on the left side of the country.
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I
Looks like there is a variety of sycamore in California., But not the northwest.
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Andybb
Well, regardless of species, it is a little punky so after the mill it's gonna get a Total Boat Penetrating Epoxy bath before final sanding and Rubio. I think it'll look purdy when done.
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CaptainKlutz
+1 Big leaf maple. Maybe red maple if from a colder inland areas of NW.

Doubt it is Alder, as it has grey/tan tones, not the yellow red tones shown in pictures. Alder sapwood and heartwood are same colors and hard to distinguish too.

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-filter/
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

Cheers!
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Andybb
+1 Big leaf maple. Maybe red maple if from a colder inland areas of NW.

Doubt it is Alder, as it has grey/tan tones, not the yellow red tones shown in pictures. Alder sapwood and heartwood are same colors and hard to distinguish too.

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-filter/
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

Cheers!

- CaptainKlutz
Click to expand...
I guess once it's spalted it's just called "spalted maple"? :)
https://www.wood-database.com/spalted-maple/

Identification: Since spalted maple is not a distinct species, the information below is for red maple (Acer rubrum), though the endgrain images show a sample with ambrosia/fungal staining for reference. See the article on Hardwood Anatomy for definitions of endgrain features.
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