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Ash defect - what causes this defect?

7/30/19       
Carl

I've been sawing white ash for the last
couple years, and have noticed at times
what I assume is considered a defect,
and am wondering what causes it.

I've included 3 pictures - the furthest out
shot gives an idea of where it's located
in relationship to the age of the tree. In
this case, the defect next to my pen knife
is roughly 3-4 inches "in" from the outside
of the log - I'm guessing the event happened
at least 20 years ago or so.

The material in the defect area tends to
have a silvery color to it, and can be poked
out easily with a knife blade. I've seen
occurrences where the shape is "zig-zaggy"
rather then a strait line of sorts.

The logs have been infested by the emerald
ash borer, but given the depth of the defects,
this doesn't seem to have any bearing on
the events.

Hoping Gene might lend some insight into
what the cause was for these defects to
occur, and why they tend to cause the
brown spotting around the effect area.

For reference, the pen knife is 3-1/4" long

Carl


View higher quality, full size image (1135 X 746)


View higher quality, full size image (1400 X 933)


View higher quality, full size image (1306 X 1004)

7/30/19       #2: Ash defect - what causes this defec ...
Mark B

Looks like metal to me. Barbados wire fence perhaps and the silver your picking out is galvanizing and all the metal is gone?

That's what metal in my logs always looks like.

7/30/19       #3: Ash defect - what causes this defec ...
Carl

When I first saw this defect, it looked like
metal to me as well, but it isn't - and if you
look at the far-away picture, you'll note a
dozen other spots that aren't elongated.
It looks like it could be some sort of boring
critter, but the silvery contents are odd looking.

These defects run the length of the 8 foot
log, and most (all?) appear to be in the
same ring range of the tree - in other
words, happened around the same time.

7/30/19       #4: Ash defect - what causes this defec ...
Mark B Member

Autotext I didnt catch, barbados = barbed

7/30/19       #5: Ash defect - what causes this defec ...
Tom Gardiner

Is it possible that the forest had a non critical level of Emerald Ash Borer infestation for twelve years or so? By looking at the alignment of the channels they are tangential to the growth rings suggesting a bug eating away at the cambium. If not EAB then another bug.

7/30/19       #6: Ash defect - what causes this defec ...
Keith Newton

Carl, I'm not seeing what you stated when you said. "These defects run the length of the 8 foot log, and most (all?) appear to be in the same ring range of the tree - in other words, happened around the same time."

Those to the right and left may be, but as you go down, I count 2 - 4 -7 12 and so on annual rings. I don't know what insect this was, but I down't think it was EAB.

Emerald Ash Borer

7/31/19       #7: Ash defect - what causes this defec ...
GeneWengert-WoodDoc

Are you referring to this one spot? Are there any others? If so, are any in quartersawn grain. In the picture, this is in the flatsawn grain and seems to be only in one growth ring. This means it is going partly around the tree, horizontally and within in one ring. It seems to not be going into the tree like a nail would do. Therefore, it is most likely sapsucker damage, but the defect in quartersawn grain would make it 100%.

7/31/19       #8: Ash defect - what causes this defec ...
Carl

I've attached another version of the photo ...
my impression is that the defects run both
tangential and radial - I've circled the ones
that appear to my eye to run radially (they
look like the cross section of a nail), and
put rectangles around the two that appear
to run tangentially. I assume the radial versions
run through the thickness of the board, but
can't confirm right now because the board is
in the kiln.

This board is flat sawn, and is the 2nd or 3rd
slab taken off the log, which to me, indicates that
the defects in the center of the width are
approximately 3 inches from the outer edge of
the tree (the bark line). I've drawn a line
connecting two of the defects - one radial
and the other tangential - this seems to show
that the defects ran both directions at the
same depth into the tree.

There is little doubt in my mind that these
are not EAB defects .... I'm very familiar
with the "look" of EAB damage - the trees
I've been sawing have been heavily infested,
and are heavily marked on the cambium/phloem side
of the log, and the inner surface of the
bark (which, BTW, often peels off cleanly on
the trees that have reached the point of
not leafing out due to the borer)

Gene mentions sapsucker damage, and we
certainly have them in our area, and I've
observed many trees here with the circular
sapsucker probing hole patterns. Gene
mentions seeing the defect in the 1/4 sawn
grain would point to them as the culprit ...
do the defects circled in the lower part
of this picture qualify?

And thanks to all replying ... this really
is an odd kind of defect, and I've seen it
in varying intensity in quite a few (maybe 15%)
of the trees I've put on the mill.


View higher quality, full size image (1961 X 1505)

7/31/19       #9: Ash defect - what causes this defec ...
GeneWengert-WoodDoc

This latest picture makes me think that this is a flagworm infestation.

7/31/19       #10: Ash defect - what causes this defec ...
Carl

interesting ... I reviewed what little I could
find on Flag worm - a Forest Service
"Defects in Harwood Timber" publication has a
paragraph or two - the culprit appears
to be the Columbian timber beetle,
and the text also mentioned the
surrounding discoloration is what gives
the pest its "flag" designation.

Interestingly, ash isn't mentioned as an
effected species. Gene - if you can add
anything regarding the beetle, I'd be
interested. It appears at least now I know
the culprit.

Maybe in the future, when ash is no longer
around, or extremely difficult to find, old
stockpiles of ash with flag worm will become
a "wormy chesnut" type of lumber in demand ;)


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