I purchased 4/4 hard maple from two different suppliers. On some of the boards there are tan discolorations that are oval in shape. I thought this might have been oil from planing at the mill, but when I ran them through my planer they are still there. Anyone have a similar experience? I can’t use the sections that have this, so it becomes a cost for me. Thanks for your input.
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Replies
Always! different suppliers , two different trees,two different regions of origin,different weather,sunlight and soil. It's hard enough to get matching boards from adjacent cuts from the same tree. There can be lots of variations of coloration and grain in maple and almost any other wood I can think of. I'd say start over, don't buy mail order but go yourself to a supplier and spend
a day flipping boards. The wood you purchased already will find a use some day. I figure very carefully the required amount of material I need to complete a project and add about 20% and cross my fingers.
I live next to conservation lands and often see downed maples there. I've cut some of them open and have been surprised to see how much variation ordinary maple trees can have. The kind of tan ovals you describe are common; I think lumber yards tend to filter them out of stock.
If you can't put them somewhere that that figure doesn't show, I agree with pantalones88 that you should just use a different board.
It's hard to say without seeing it. It could be portions of heartwood.