Is Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde wood common?

I cut up a piece of crab apple; the main trunk just before it split into 4 trunks.

One half is very light and porous; I would call it willow if I didn't know where it came from. The other half is heavy and solid; pretty much what you would expect from crab apple. From the outside they looked to be the same.

Is something like this common? Anyway to determine it before cutting? I am just lucky I cut it in half on the axis I did.

I have turned one bowl from the light side. Terrible tearout and it would have absorbed as much LBO as I threw at it, but it turned out nicely. I am hoping the hard half will be even better.

Reply to
Toller
Loading thread data ...

Brown rot? Common in trees that are pruned. Apple is as prone to it as cherry. When it gets to the point of cubical rot, the wood's absolutely unusable.

White rot eats lignin, so you develop structural problems earlier in the process than with brown, a cellulose-eater.

Sound wood is always easier to finish.

Reply to
George

Maybe you have some burl effect?

A friend brought me a couple feet of walnut in the form of about a 15" diameter trunk piece.. Made 2 bowls, one from each half of the log, and the color and grain is so different that folks don't believe me when I tell them that they're both from the same piece of trunk.. Good news is that they were both gorgeous wood..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.