I have two very large logs of box elder as identified by an arborist. The heartwood looks very nice with pink to bright red swirls. My question is this. Does box elder slab out and dry well or does it split and warp like crazy? I have tried all the books I have on wood and none give much info on box elder. I have a friend that is also wondering obout this wood(he has the bandsaw mill). Are we wasting our time or what?
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Replies
joey, I can't swear by it but I think it drys well. Seems to me it's used in a lot of applications that require stable wood.
Thanks....I believe we'll slab it up and see.
The pink and bright red swirls you refer to are the result of a fungus. The wood is "spalted". In my experience, boxelder almost always spalts with pink and red. Many times I have gotten a "blistering" figure in boxelder which is very attractive.
Boxelder is actually a soft maple, the softest of all maples I believe. It will dry very consistently and is not prone to warpage problems.
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