Green "spotting" in birdseye maple?

[Zagiflyer]

I recently got some birdseye maple and I noticed that the pieces have some olive drab/green marks on them that go so deep into the wood that they can't be turned out. A couple of years ago I got some really cool honey colored birdseye with lots of figuring but it had a lot of these spots on it. Are these types of stains common to birdseye and if they are what do most of you do: do you put the wood into a cue with the marks and just consider it a natural part of the wood or do you scrap the wood? The pieces I got are 18-20" rounds of "exceptional grade" birdseye from Bell Forest Products and I had them dowel them for my prior to shipping to about 1.35" to save me some time. On some of the pieces I can work around the stains because they are at the ends and I can get a forearm or a handle from the piece. On some of the pieces the stains are in the middle and that will make it tough. I've generally been very happy with the wood that I get from Bell.


Any thoughts?

Thanks;

ZAG

 

[Arnot Wadsworth]

I recently got some birdseye maple and I noticed that the pieces have some olive drab/green marks on them that go so deep into the wood that they can't be turned out. A couple of years ago I got some really cool honey colored birdseye with lots of figuring but it had a lot of these spots on it. Are these types of stains common to birdseye and if they are what do most of you do: do you put the wood into a cue with the marks and just consider it a natural part of the wood or do you scrap the wood? The pieces I got are 18-20" rounds of "exceptional grade" birdseye from Bell Forest Products and I had them dowel them for my prior to shipping to about 1.35" to save me some time. On some of the pieces I can work around the stains because they are at the ends and I can get a forearm or a handle from the piece. On some of the pieces the stains are in the middle and that will make it tough. I've generally been very happy with the wood that I get from Bell.


Any thoughts?

Thanks;

ZAG

I would have immediately sent them back to Bell Forrest Products. Their exceptional grade is quite expensive and should be perfect.

I have not been impressed with Bell Forrest Products' Bird's Eye Maple. It has not come up to the grade I expected for their price. They called me one time asking why I no longer ordered wood from them and I explained that out of 10 pieces ordered only 7 or 8 were up to grade. I stopped buying from them years ago.

Good Cuemaking,

 

[ddcuerepair]

Well said Arnot. I had some BE from Bell Forest so few and small figures I made joint protectors out of it all. Not even close to the quality I get from Birds Eye Creations.
When you order Premo thats what you should get.
David

 

[KJ Cues]

I'd also send it back immediately. That's totally out of character for Boone, at least as far as my experience with him. He knows full well what this wood is used for and I seriously doubt that he'd accept it in his own cue. Look, anyone can make a mistake. Call him personally and I gotta believe he's going to make it right for you.

Any 'green' in a piece of BI is totally unacceptable. Mineral deposits are another story. These are brown to dark brown and are usually iron. I have no problem with mineral deposits and IMO they can provide additional character to the wood but then it depends on the cue I'm building.

Let us know how this works out for you.

 

[Zagiflyer]

Hey Guys;

I want to be fair to the folks at Bell so I've included some pictures of the pieces here. When I said green I meant very dark/brownish green not green like fresh wood. You guys are the experts on this stuff so maybe you can look at the pictures and let me know if this is normal markings for birdseye. I've gotten pieces from Bell before with none of this and better figuring. I wasn't real happy with the pieces I got this time. I'll send Boone an E-mail with these pictures as well. Someone mentioned Birdseye creations, any other good sources for Birdseye and curly? Normally I've been happy with Bell but this order was not as good as some of what I've gotten before.

Thanks;

Zag

 

[manwon]

Hey Guys;

I want to be fair to the folks at Bell so I've included some pictures of the pieces here. When I said green I meant very dark/brownish green not green like fresh wood. You guys are the experts on this stuff so maybe you can look at the pictures and let me know if this is normal markings for birdseye. I've gotten pieces from Bell before with none of this and better figuring. I wasn't real happy with the pieces I got this time. I'll send Boone an E-mail with these pictures as well. Someone mentioned Birdseye creations, any other good sources for Birdseye and curly? Normally I've been happy with Bell but this order was not as good as some of what I've gotten before.

Thanks;

Zag

Generally I have found that the green you are talking about is from moisture. It is almost like Alge or fungus that has effected the wood.

Here is good place to buy Quality Birdseye in the future!!!!!

http://www.birdseyecreations.com/the.store?cart_id=1804450.1674&page=logs.html

Have a good day!!

 

[masonh]

i tried some squares from Belle and they didn't have enough eyes for me to use.i bought some big boards from them that were loaded with eyes though.better than 5A and cheap.for 5a Birdseye boards are the way to go.

 

[KJ Cues]

Hey Guys;

I want to be fair to the folks at Bell so I've included some pictures of the pieces here. When I said green I meant very dark/brownish green not green like fresh wood. You guys are the experts on this stuff so maybe you can look at the pictures and let me know if this is normal markings for birdseye. I've gotten pieces from Bell before with none of this and better figuring. I wasn't real happy with the pieces I got this time. I'll send Boone an E-mail with these pictures as well. Someone mentioned Birdseye creations, any other good sources for Birdseye and curly? Normally I've been happy with Bell but this order was not as good as some of what I've gotten before.

Thanks;

Zag

That's not green. When you see green in maple, it will be as green as the cloth your wood is sitting on. What you have there are mineral deposits and in most cases are not considered flaws unless you specifically ordered 'pure white, no marks'. 'Exceptional grade' should be mark free. It's your call. If you're unhappy with the product, at least call and see if some adjustment can be made.

 

[rhncue]

i tried some squares from Belle and they didn't have enough eyes for me to use.i bought some big boards from them that were loaded with eyes though.better than 5A and cheap.for 5a Birdseye boards are the way to go.

I haven't bought from Bell Forrest for some time as their prices have got out of hand but when I did the only wood that I would buy was their Reserve wood as there was a picture of exactly what you were purchasing. I would rather spend a 100.00 for an exceptional piece for a cue than 3.00 for a mediocre piece. I've got more wood now than I could use in 2 lifetimes but I'm still always looking for the occasional exceptional piece.

When I first started buying from Bell Forrest they were getting 7.00 for an 18" piece of good Birdseye. Now everyone is buying from them and the price has gone up to 30 or 40.00. I guess it won't be long now until Birdseye Creations will be raising their prices also.

Dick

 

[masonh]

i bought 2 $90 7/4 boards that were about 38" and 46" long,6" wide.they were on Ebay.a little heartwood but it should turn out.i haven't seen any squares available that have this many eyes.also about half of it turned out to be 3 and 4 sided figure.

 

[Zagiflyer]

I haven't bought from Bell Forrest for some time as their prices have got out of hand but when I did the only wood that I would buy was their Reserve wood as there was a picture of exactly what you were purchasing. I would rather spend a 100.00 for an exceptional piece for a cue than 3.00 for a mediocre piece. I've got more wood now than I could use in 2 lifetimes but I'm still always looking for the occasional exceptional piece.

When I first started buying from Bell Forrest they were getting 7.00 for an 18" piece of good Birdseye. Now everyone is buying from them and the price has gone up to 30 or 40.00. I guess it won't be long now until Birdseye Creations will be raising their prices also.

Dick

The 18" "exceptional" pieces I bought were only $15/piece. I second what somebody else said, I would rather pay more and get wood that is really good. I gather that good birdseye is rare in nature and not easy to find. They are out-of-stock an their exceptional birdseye and curly maple pretty often which leads me to believe that they have to cut down a lot of trees to find any good stuff. I ordered this last batch because they had some in stock but I think they stretched the "exceptional" part a little. I looked at Birdseye Creations and they have very few 18 to 18+ pieces in stock as far as I could tell.

ZAG

 

[Zagiflyer]

That's not green. When you see green in maple, it will be as green as the cloth your wood is sitting on. What you have there are mineral deposits and in most cases are not considered flaws unless you specifically ordered 'pure white, no marks'. 'Exceptional grade' should be mark free. It's your call. If you're unhappy with the product, at least call and see if some adjustment can be made.

Thanks KJ;

That pretty much answers my question. I don't really like the spots too much on the lighter colored wood. I'm not that picky about the all-white though. I like the honey colored stuff as long as the color is even. I have a couple pieces that are white on one side and light brown on the other.....not so good. I guess I need to rent a boat and get some of those awesome sunken logs from the bottom of Lake Superior

ZAG