You can see in the pictures these darker stripes going across the boards.
In one picture, you can see it’s not just cross lines but also kind of “sprayed” around.
The color is like a translucent gray, and the spacing between the thick cross splotches seems consistent.
It makes me think it’s some kind of bundle binding material that leeched into the boards, but I don’t know.
I’ve worked with Sapele before and have never seen this effect.
These boards are resawed, and stains are seen through them. They started as 4/4.
I’ve been positioning the worst of it in areas where it won’t be seen, but I just resawed panels for a door face and am dismayed to see it is also through this board.
My next step before proceeding is to stop and finish a section to test how it looks.
Does anyone know what this is?
Is it common?
Is there a way to deal with it?
Other suggestions?
Replies
Sorry to say that those look like sticker marks - the discolouration due to fungal and other growths that occur under the wooden spacers often used to separate green wood planks as they air-dry in a stack, often for between one and four years.
If the stickers are wood or otherwise themselves able to hold moisture, the moisture levels become higher so that, if the surrounding temperatures are right too, the area between the stickers and the planks becomes an ideal location for various moulds and other fungal stuff to grow. This grows down through the still damp wood of the planks so the sticker mark ends up going right through those planks.
There's no way to get rid of the resultant colour changes, even when the planks are thoroughly dry and the fungus itself long gone.
When sticker marks occur, the likelihood is that there'll be other spots in the drying stack of planks where something increased the moisture level so that further mould-growth could occur: leaves blowing into the stack and sticking there; a lump of bark falling off a plank edge above on to a plank below. This may be the source of the irregular patches of discolouration.
As posted, looks like sticker marks, unfortunate whatever their source. Having made quite a few pieces with sapele, I can say the wood is lighter and redder when freshly milled, and darkens considerably with age. Those marks will be much less noticeable after that process happens, If you do some test finishing, you'd need to give it some time to get to its final color to see how prominent those marks will be.
That, and as you mentioned in your post, can you possibly use those boards in a location that's not prominent?
I think that's about the best you'll be able to do.
The darkening with age is a great point. Could I finish a test piece and leave it outside in the sun for a week or so to simulate it?
Those boards are most likely for another project..too bad, but it happens!
Thanks, everyone. I hadn't thought of the stickers. That is surely it.
Should I mention this to my mill? In my mind, it seems a little unfair to pay all this money just to find out how they managed their product leaves me and, ultimately, the customer screwed.
Could/should they have done things differently?
Is asking for a credit or something unreasonable?
I will need to buy more...and from them, ideally, if they have some from a different stock.
I like everyone there and prefer to support my local people rather than buying online and also paying for shipping but ending up with 600 bucks worth of this Sapele is hard to manage for me and my client.
Given that sticker marks ruin the appearance of anything in which they show, it seems not unreasonable to ask for another plank or so. But you've sliced them stickered ones up now, which will make it difficult to argue for a replacement or swap.
Time-darkening of the sapele won't obscure the sticker marks. They too will change with any UV on them over time. About the only thing that will obscure sticker marks is to stain the whole thing black. Not just dark grey or dark red or any other tone - it has to be black or them marks will yell "YOOHOO - lookit me"!
It's not unreasonable to talk to the mill. It's not unreasonable to expect some compensation. The guys at the desk get it, maybe, they see the money. People working the yard not so much. I've had loads of lumber delivered and DROPPED...Resulting in the bottom rows splitting end to end! Received material with vibram tattoos all over them. Once on an order of clear cedar that I had milled with a resawn face someone decided that that stack was a pretty handy spot to cut visqueen on.. at about $400 a board, defacing the top 8 boards! I've purchased loads of lumber the cost of which would be the equivalent of the price of a new BMW and yard people and delivery people treating it like it was green waste! You've got to call them on it. You might even get something back. What you won't get back is your wasted time.
Thats so unfortunate to hear about all that.
The cedar is painful to read especially.
I think its the opposite at this place strangely. Its the office ladies i dont expect to understand. the yard guys are the guys i know pretty well are like.
Yeah i dont really have much of a choice. i have to at least try. i hate to be that guy but...this seems egregious to me. 600 bucks i cant use 60%.
Id be happy is 50% replacment if they have different stock or a 80% refund.
If i was in charge there id do it in a heartbeat...i go there frequently.
I have had that show up in Purple Heart, Maple etc. before and we planned the best side down and used it for panels in raised panels and drawers sides. I don't know the project you are working on so there may not be anything that you need that would be thinner. The problem planning one side more than the other is the moisture content in the surface will be different from one side to side most likely making it cup. Purpleheart and other really hard closed celled woods will most likely not be completely dry all the way through when you buy it and I never trust 8/4 white oak to be dry all the way through if I were doing a relief carving same with closed cell woods.