# Milling red shorts . . .



## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Hasn't been much milling going on around here so I figured I throw a pic or two on. This is from one of the shorts I milled today. You may be wondering why I was milling shorts. Or you may not be wondering, but I'll tell you anyway. 

My skid steer is awaiting a couple of new tires to arrive at my tire shop. My lower back is hurting very nicely now. Nuff said. I only snapped a couple of pics as I was not liking what I was having to do. 


















These weren't sprayed with water they were just green, so the color is true to life. I have some more species I need to mill tomorrow so I'll take more pics if I cut anything worth looking at. That is if I am walking around tomorrow. :wheelchair:







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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Awesome color!*

Keep milling the shorts! You're on a roll now! :thumbsup: bill


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Wow TT, those are gorgeous. How much / how fast does that bright color fade?

Paul


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

Excellent find! I was wondering about the color changing/fading?


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## Mizer (Mar 11, 2010)

Wow! that is beautiful. I have trouble seeing red very good but no problem seeing that. Take care with that back of yours!


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Holy Cow what is that wood? I've never seen the likes of that.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Gary Beasley said:


> Holy Cow what is that wood? I've never seen the likes of that.


It's box elder. TT specializes in it. Some folks call the stuff with red areas "flame" box elder and you'll see some pretty neat stuff around, but NOBODY has stuff like TT.


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

That is really cool, especially that first one. If I owned an older grand style house I'd almost like to have a dragon mural made and just use that 1st board as is for the flame. Something medevil looking. Why does boxelder do this? Is the red heartwood or just bleedout from the pith? Heal up your back, we'd hate for you screw it up.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Well isn't that pretty. 



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## Mizer (Mar 11, 2010)

I thought you meant these kind of shorts.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I really did it to my back. I knew it would be sore but I didn't think I'd still be in bed until nealry 11:00 this a.m. By the time I got to the house last night I was not moving fast, to put it lightly. 



phinds said:


> How much / how fast does that bright color fade?


That depends on a lot of things Paul. The oldest FBE thing I have is an end grain plate that was turned over 6 years ago and given to us by a customer. It's been staying in the shop in various places as the vortex of sequences pushes it here & there on its inexorable, haphazard journey (as part of the migratory shop clutter). My shop has 8 large Polyester Resin lite panels and the plate has set out unprotected many times and although it has faded quite a bit, it isn't as much as what I thought it should be since it has essentially sat "outside" for probably half the time with UV exposure. It was finished with mineral oil at that time and not retouched since. I'll try to get a picture after I crawl back out to the shop later. 



ACP said:


> Why does boxelder do this?


There's no single body of research that I'm aware of that's isolated the causation of the phenomenon with 100% certainty. I have my opinions based on a lot of reading and even more experience harvesting & milling it, but I try to keep an open mind about it more than I used to after having seen some things in the field that make me ask more questions and listening to new ideas from guys who's opinion I respect like Paul and another guy in central Texas who had a stand of it in the 70s and 80s but finally harvested it all. Unlike my stand, his trees did not continue to get infested generation after generation. I still do believe that the trees respond to the borer infestation which results in the flame patterns. I don't believe the flame is the result of a borer's waste trail as some put forth. There's been quite a lot if discussion about it here and elsewhere. This is the article I link for someone like you when they ask because other than having harvested & milled the equivalent of a small forest of it literally, that is the article to which I give most credence and I'm not aware of a more in-depth, scholarly one which also conducted extensive field and laboratory research to isolate the causation, and they even tried to replicate the response through various means (without success). 


I been typing for a while then walk up the hall and back and type some more and now have been at it for an hour. I need to change positions getting all tight again. If you got this far thanks for letting me rant and whine. 








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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Mizer said:


> I thought you meant these kind of shorts.


I dunno Brian, those tree rings look like really fast growth, and that pith looks like a bunch of bull to me. :huh:







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## Mizer (Mar 11, 2010)

I didn't even see the Bull. You are so observant even in your dilousanary state. It must be a Texas thing, noticing bulls with horns. I am going to buy a pair of these for next summer to wear around the pool.


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

TT,

Dr, D prescribes a lil' self medication! 

And keep movin, if you can. :blink:

BTDT.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

yeah I'm just noe getting in the shop - so I am moving .... technically speaking. I have a sick CNC router, a sick skid steer, a sick logging truck, and a sick back. I need to ban myslef until I get some things fixed or I'll bring too much negative energy on board. Yawn. I'm not complaining at least it's a darn pretty day and I'm not adrift at sea with no food or water, dying a slow miserable agonizing death with no hope for rescue. Some people are as we speak, so I'll look at my back pain as a gift compared to their fate. 









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## Mizer (Mar 11, 2010)

I am sorry for your troubles Kevin! Prioritize, get your back straightened up first. I am sure that the other things can all be fixed with wrenches and hammers once you are back on your feet.


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## slabmaster (Mar 30, 2008)

*Box elder*

That's some nice looking red box elder T.T. I cut down a elder 10 years ago that had alot of red in it, but it also had many nails, so i didn't mill it. It was a tree in a friends front yard. A hated to use it for firewood.Sorry to here about your back. I have trouble with mine from time to time, so i feel your pain. I've had poplar do the same thing with red and often wondered what caused it. I always thought it was from stress of some kind. I had some oak i milled last fall that had bright greenish blue that looked real cool. It's holding the color still and i hope it stays that way.


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## Ibangwood (Feb 25, 2010)

That is beautiful wood nice pics Texas


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