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SUMAC
my samples: colors, although varied, are accurate throughout
staghorn sumac sample plank and end grain closeup
both sides of a plank of staghorn sumac --- heavy green tint is correct
set of planks and a closeup
closeup of the piece directly above
staghorn sumac planks and closeup
3 staghorn sumac planks
I was told, and have read, that staghorn sumac glows in black light so I checked it out and sure enough ... here's a pic of one of the planks above in blacklight. If you look closely, especially in the enlargements, you'll also see that the bright white line of sapwood turns bright blue in the black light, but that seems to be common (the white sheet under the wood also turned bright blue ... you can see a little of it in the lower right edge of the pic)
closeup from the 3-plank pic directly above
plank and closeup --- this was cut from one of the larger planks above and then sanded for the pics.
end grain closeup of the piece direclty above
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks and a closeup --- I specifically chose to put the orange colored plank in with some others to show the color variation, which is correctly represented here. BUT ... when I sanded this plank, I found that the orange was only skin deep and sanded right off ... don't know if it's a patina or what.
both sides of a small staghorn sumac plank sanded down for the pics
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks
staghorn sumac planks
both sides of a rough plank contributed to the site by Milton Smith who cut it in Wisconsin and whom I thank for the contribution. Milton believes, based on the color, that this is smoothbark sumac.
NOTE: all of these pics of the smoothbark sumac are just a shade too orange and not quite green enough and I can't see any difference between this and some staghorn sumac I've seen (but that doesn't mean it is NOT smoothbark sumac)
both sides, sanded smooth, of the two small planks I recovered from the rough plank directly above
end grain of the 2 planks directly above
end grain closeups of the two planks directly above
NOTE: the pics of the following two planks of African sumac were submitted by Jon Dake, whom I thank most kindly for the contribution. Jon tells me these are freshly cut (unseasoned) from a tree in Arizona but which is not native to Arizona (Hey ... it doesn't LOOK like a cactus, does it)
both sides of a plank of African sumac and a closeup
both sides of another plank of African sumac
web pics
mountain sumac (Rhus trichocarpa) pic submitted by Bill Mudry --- thanks Bill
plank
log
staghorn sumac with very accurate color
both sides of a plank of staghorn sumac --- I bought this piece and you can see my own pics of it up in the "my samples" section at the top of this page. These pics have just a little too much red and not enough green
staghorn sumac planks all from the same vendor --- I'm confident these pics do not show as much green as is actually in the wood and that they have a little too much red tint. These are all from the same vendor as the ones just above here marked "very accurate color". The dealer is honest, just not too interested in color-correct images.
staghorn sumac turning submitted by Sean Winger --- I doubt the color but I can't remember if Sean commented on it or not.
NOTE: all of the pics below were provided by Milton Schmit, who also provided the sample plank shown up above. This is all from the same tree, which Milton believes to be smoothbark sumac. I cannot vouch for the colors on any of these pics, but the pieces all came from the same tree as the sample plank shown above, so that should give you some idea. It is a very colorful piece, so the vibrant colors below are believable. Some of the color variation is likely due to the fact that Milton used various finishes on the different pieces.
two views of a bowl finished with water based varnish.
bowl and pepper shaker both finished with Danish oil
two bowls made from the root of the tree and finished with Danish oil
various objects made by Milton Schmit --- the enlargements really show the grain patterns well
smoothbark sumac bowls
staghorn sumac bowls