# Free oak log is maroon, is it from metal?



## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

Well, I went to get my free wood and the center of the oak is maroon edging towards black in areas. Is this from metal embedded in the tree? Will it stay maroon or turn to black? I like character wood for my boxes and personal stuff and want to get it sawn, but if it eats to many blades it will not be worth the effort. 9+ feet long 13" at the base to 15" at the top with multiple solid crotches in the top 3 feet with every branch off shoot having a maroon center and the typical red oak in the outer half. At least the pecan turned out to be three 8 ft long sections of clear hackberry big enough to saw and a bunch of cool turning pieces to practice on, so the trip to the mill will not be a total waste. Could not handle the 24" diameter pecan by myself, plus it has been standing dead for 6 months with no top. None of my friends/family understand my fascination with free wood enough to wake up at 6 am on a Saturday to help me:thumbdown:, but they sure want the end product.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

That's kinda weird. Yes metal in a tree will leave a black mark, but just locally. For example a nail may have a 1 inch black ring around it, and maybe some streaking lengthwise in the grain. If I am reading your description right you are saying the center of the log is black? Sounds like some sort of disease to me. I did a quick Google search and came up with nothing that matched your description. I do have an oak log in my yard right now that is very dark in the center...but that part is softer (punky) I was not planning or milling it. Does the darker wood seem solid?


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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

Seemed solid, no cracks, voids or anything. There was a large wound higher up in the tree where a large branch broke and was rotting into the tree with ants in it. When I get home I will test the outer and inner parts for strength differences. The tree was budding out and seemed healthy. The dark center runs through almost every branch on the tree I brought home down to small 2" diameter pieces I brought home. Has the typical oak smell, nothing moldy or musty smelling. If it were fungal, I would think it would smell when cut. I will put up pics tonight.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

jeffreythree said:


> The tree was budding out and seemed healthy. The dark center runs through almost every branch on the tree I brought home down to small 2" diameter pieces I brought home. Has the typical oak smell, nothing moldy or musty smelling. If it were fungal, I would think it would smell when cut. I will put up pics tonight.


I have cut trees that budded out and appeared healthy...but were completely hollow inside, catalpa is notorious for that a 30" tree may have a 20" hole right in the middle :huh:. Maybe this maroon color is more common than I am aware of in oaks and someone has heard of it, it is a new one on me though. You are right in your thinking about smell, that should have been some clue. If it is still solid I would go for it, it's not metal, it may be some cool anomaly. Yea, I would like to see pictures when you get a chance, just for my own curiosity.


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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

Here are some pics. One is of the one end of the log, and in the background you can see a smaller piece from higher in the tree. The other is from a branch much higher in the tree with a cool crotch. Notice the center of the log is reddish brown, and the very edge of the discoloration is black. The only disease I can find is wetwood. The sap in the center is inky black and tar like, the slime that causes wetwood? This disease does not reduce the strength of the wood, but does increase the chance of warpage and cracking.


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## mmwood_1 (Oct 24, 2007)

If that wood is sound, you are going to have some amazing oak on your hands.


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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

It is solid everywhere I poke it with a screw driver. I am just glad it was not metal, since there is only ~50 bdft in the log. I don't know if the sawmill is going to let me kiln diseased oak, so I may be waiting a year for air drying before any use. And I wanted some crazy cabinet door panels now.:icon_smile:


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

jeffreythree said:


> The only disease I can find is wetwood.


I agree. It is in the early stages of heart rot, but if it is sound it is still good. Too bad the logs were not bigger, 1/4 sawn would not only help with the instability...but ray flecks on that color would be something to behold. The log to me looks like it may have some stress even without the disease, the pith (very center of the log) is, well, not in the center. I bet the crotch sawn out will look killer. I think if I had that log I would flat saw it, just live edge flitches. It's your's and I am not trying to tell you what to do, I just like weird stuff.
I got a "junk" walnut given to me with just the opposite problem...it was _supposed_ to be black in the center. It was a rare anomaly, this live edge slab is smack out of the middle of the log. Around here there should be maybe 1" of white sapwood, there is 5" on each side. I pulled some 12" wide slabs that where all white, from a black walnut :huh:.
Good luck Jeffrey, you said you liked character wood, looks like you have some there.


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