Maple turning orange?
Ron in Drums PA
>On my way home from work last week, I noticed a big old maple tree that was cut down. I was a little disappointed that the main trunk was gone. The stump was about 44" wide, but the branches that where left are 14" thick. A lady came out of the house and we spoke for a while, I asked her if she minded if I took some wood. When I told her I'd return in the summer with a wooden bowl her eyes lit up.
It was cold that day, 5 degrees, with a wind chill below 0. I loaded my van with some prime wood and drove home. I unloaded the wood in my driveway figuring I'd take care of it on Saturday morning. Two days later, with the temputures always in the single digits the wood is frozen solid, I slice up the logs so I can bring them inside. When I open up the wood it has a very white interior. I lug all the pieces inside and anchor seal all but one piece which I mount on the lathe.
I tell you, coring and turning frozen wood is a different experience. When I finished roughing out the bowls I anchorsealed the outter bowl and the inner two cores I dipped in alcohol. A few hours later when I came back to pull the blanks out of the alcohol I noticed the wood was orange, surprised I went to the blank I waxed, it too was orange! I went to the logs and the cut surfaces also where orange.
I've never seen this happen to maple before. Has anyone ever experience this?
