You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover.

A while back a friend of mine had a silver maple taken down in their yard as it was threatening to demolish their garage. They were opening a venue and wanted to use some of the wood for the bar and tables. The surplus boards of varying thicknesses were left piled in their driveway. By the time I found out about them all the thicker boards had been taken but there were about 20 5/4 boards left. They had been stacked without spacers under a tarp on the ground. When I looked through them they were kind of moldy.

I got a good price and thought I would be able to use them for something at some point.

When I got them back to the shop I cut off a section and ran it through the planer. What showed up looked really promising as something special. Not only was there some spalting but also slight curl throughout.

Recently I suggested using it for a custom project which was accepted. I applied some Danish oil today and what sprang out is quite amazing.

I now can't wait to make something else from this unique material.