Any reason not to mill Ash that has been down a while?

[Ghettoblaster]

As the title says are there any good reasons not to buy and mill an Ash that has been on the deck 18 months?

Cheers

Will

[arbormonkey]

makes lovely ax handles on the lathe

[arbormonkey]

and make a nice table top

[Copford sawmill sussex]

Ash can discolour if left cut down too long but to some people that's how they prefer it

[Ghettoblaster]

When you say discolour what do you mean? What colour are we talking about, could you elaborate?

Thanks

[SteveA]

When you say discolour what do you mean? What colour are we talking about, could you elaborate?

Thanks

 

It may have spalted.... see the front of this guitar as an example: http://uberaxe.com/resources/8.JPG

 

If it's left to spalt too long then you may find parts of the wood are much softer.... so, eg, may not be so suitable for a kitchen worktop.... but may be okay for kitchen doors.

 

Google "spalted ash" and look at the images for more examples.

 

cheers, Steve

Edited December 9, 2015 by SteveA

[muttley9050]

Ash can go over quite quickly when down but 18 months should be Ok. I'd evaluate each log individually for signs of decay before I commited.

[Ghettoblaster]

Thanks guys. It doesn't look like it has spalted at all to me, it has been clear of the ground the ends just look a bit weathered, no obvious rot.

I was more concerned that it may have gone hard like beech can sometimes after it has sat a while.

Think I had better just mill it and see!

[se7enthdevil]

before you decide how good or bad it is you should get 2-3" taken off the end as that will tell you what state it's in.

 

if it's off the ground then i reckon it'll be fine.

[devon TWiG]

That guitar looks more typical of spalted beech ............ These are a few things that I have made from spalted Ash ..It can be very nice but a fine line from lovely to rotten