Markings in maple....

[Victorthesecond]

Hello everyone. Once again, I'm asking for your opinions!

I seem to have gained a few orders for kitchen boards from friends and family....as we travel to the USA fairly regularly, I've been able to source slabs that the mill have been kind enough to cut into suitcase-size pieces...So far, I've made 4 boards from cherry, and am currently making 4 from maple.

I've come across a marking in one of the maple boards I'm sanding down that I can't figure out. It sort of doesn't look natural, but it is, as far as I know, simply part of the wood.

I wondered if someone might be able to advise what they think it might be from the photos attached?

Thanks so much, again, for your help.

Mike

 

[recipio]

Brown markings are common in maple. The Americans call it ' Ambrosia maple ' and it is usually left in place as a decorative feature You should also be able to find bird's eye, ripple and quilted maple easily. - good luck bringing it all home

 

[niall Y]

It looks to be some form of staining. which can stand out on pale timbers.

I remember purchasing a large quantity of Maple for a customer's kitchen. The entire batch even after planing showed staining where the stickers had been placed during seasoning. It looked like a stretched out bar-code.

Thankfully by the end of the job and the finish was applied it wasn't as noticeable

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I wondered if someone might be able to advise what they think it might be from the photos attached?

Sticker stain most likely. Slainte.

 

[Victorthesecond]

Sticker stain most likely. Slainte.

Thank you. If it is sticker stain, is there any way it can be removed either as part of the sanding process (I'm currently almost at the end with 240 grit paper being used) or via some other method? It's just a bit, well, feels like it shouldn't be there and as I'm doing this for a friend who wants to give the board to her son for Christmas, I sort of feel it should look better...

Thanks again

Mike

 

[Sgian Dubh]

If it is sticker stain, is there any way it can be removed either as part of the sanding process (I'm currently almost at the end with 240 grit paper being used) or via some other method?

The only way the stain can be removed is to take away enough wood to get below the staining, and that depends how deep the stain is... it might be shallow or deep. An alternative would be an A/B bleach, but that process takes you down a different set of technical challenges post the bleaching process.

Best solution is to start with boards that don't have sticker stain. Slainte.

 

[murphy]

Is it the same on the other side?

 

[Victorthesecond]

Is it the same on the other side?

Hi, sorry for delayed replay. No, it's only on one side. I'm pretty sure it is indeed "sticker stain"