January 23, 201610 yr 10/15 years ago I was able to get some spalted Box Elder pieces. I had never seen a wood with red in it. I was fascinated. The pictures are of the incomplete pieces. I went back to get some more and they didn't have any. However they had some that looked nearly as red. I was going to pick it up and looked closer when I saw a sign. "This wood is a member of the Sumac family and some people can have the same reaction as they would with poison Ivy." WOA!!! I could immediately see me in the hospital after handling and breathing in the dust.
January 28, 201610 yr sadly the red flame in Box Elder turns brown in a few months. to combat this many turners will use an artist brush and red dye to color those areas retaining the original look.
January 28, 201610 yr Those came out fantastic. I wonder what causes the degradation of the color? Is it light or is it the exposure to air? Wonder if like purple heart if you heat it slightly when the purple is starting to turn brown can sometimes revive the purple color. DW
January 28, 201610 yr Perhaps the color fades after moisture content is greatly reduced after turning? Just like any wood that has high moisture content, the color fades as it dries. Just throwing that out there.
January 28, 201610 yr it's the UV rays that degrade the color. the same as it effects other woods such as turning cherry darker red, lightening walnut etc.
February 7, 201610 yr Author I was told that the color change was due to oxidation of the wood internally and it can be slowed, but not stopped.
January 21, 20206 yr Not all Sumac's are poison. White Sumac. poison. Toxicodendron vernix, commonly known as poison sumac. Also known as thunderwood. Poison sumac is a shrub or small tree. New bark for a poison sumac tree is lightish gray, and as the bark ages, it becomes darker.Its flowers are greenish. Poison sumac fruit are creamy white and part of a cluster Red Sumac. Not poison. The dried fruits of some species are ground to produce a tangy, crimson spice popular in many countries. Fruits are also used to make a traditional pink lemonade.The leaves and bark of most sumac species contain high levels of tannins and have been used in the manufacturing of leather. he fruits are reddish, thin-fleshed drupes covered in varying levels of hairs at maturity and form dense clusters at branch tips, sometimes called sumac bobs. I turn the not poison one all the time. Nice green striped wood.
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