Using sapwood?

[cowfoot]

Can sapwood be used as a secondary wood?
I've only recently started buying rough sawn/waney edge timber and processing it.
Exhibit A -

I'll be ripping the nice figured side of that Ash, but seems a shame to use the rest for starting a fire!

 

[tomatwark]

Ash is used white and brown, there is no waste in that board.

Think you maybe getting mixed up with Oak which has really different colours for sap and heart wood and are generally cutout.

 

[Beau]

The sapwood on some woods is fine to use while on others its very soft and porous so tricky to finish. Your example of ash is as far as I can tell not showing sap rather the heart known as olive ash and regular wood. The sap on ash is one of the ones that is totally usable. The other wood I like to use sap for contrast is cherry.

 

[AndyT]

Another factor to consider is that in some species, (eg oak) the sapwood will decay much more readily or be much more attractive to boring insect attack (eg birch).

 

[custard]

You're not going to get a consistent answer on this.

Some highly respected, purist makers will absolutely refuse to use sap anywhere in their furniture, saying it's not as strong, worm prone, or just not attractive.

On the other hand Black Walnut for example is almost always steamed to minimise the colour difference between sap and heart and then sold on a "sap no fault" basis. Then there are timbers like Yew, where there's so much ingrown bark that you'd struggle to make anything without including at least a bit of sap. Or there's tropicals like most Rosewoods where the sap is actually harder than most European timbers, and is now often incorporated into contemporary furniture designs to take advantage of the vivid colour distinction between the creamy sap and the purply black heart.

Personally I think you should take a pragmatic position, if the sap is firm and worm free for use in a centrally heated home (where worm isn't an issue) then it's your legitimate decision to use it or not.

Incidentally, I'm with Beau regarding your Ash, I think you're looking at Olive Ash/Ash heart.

Here are some rippled Ash boards I used recently in a furniture build, it's all heartwood, but the darker sections are streaks of Olive Ash (it's a result of a fungal attack in the growing tree). Some times the whole tree is stained the darker colour, other times it's a more localised. Again it's a personal call, but used carefully it can deliver a unique decorative effect to your furniture.

If you're making individually designed pieces of furniture then boards like this are another good reason why you should always inspect and buy your boards in person.

 

[cowfoot]

Thanks everyone.
The waney edge boards I've picked up from English Woodlands Timber look similar to yours, Custard. Fortunately I've kept the paler stuff (I've made a couple of projects using the olive/figured stuff, too dark for photos now but I'll try and post some tomorrow). I was hoping to use the "offcuts" for runners/kickers or other internal bits, but I'm now wondering if I could design something using both elements to highlight the figured wood...

 

[custard]

I'm now wondering if I could design something using both elements to highlight the figured wood...

If you bought from English Woodlands there's a chance you've got consecutive boards from the log, if so one option is to "bookmatch" the two boards so you get a symmetrical grain arrangement across the two boards. That pair of boards, or a sequence of similar pairings, makes for a very special top. Book matched tops in solid wood are generally regarded as evidence of high quality work.

One of the many nice things about English Woodlands as a timber yard is that you can select consecutive boards from the flitch or boule, not only does this guarantee a superb colour match it also opens up the possibility of book matching.

Good luck!

 

[cowfoot]

As promised, here's the first project -

Based on Chris Schwartz's "Anarchist's tool chest". It was the first thing I've built on my own from hardwood, hand tools only (I've since shelled out for a cheap PT and a second hand bandsaw, which should push things along a bit).
Like everything I make, I can only see the mistakes...but that's what keeps me going back for more!

 

[profchris]

I'm now wondering if I could design something using both elements to highlight the figured wood...

If you bought from English Woodlands there's a chance you've got consecutive boards from the log, if so one option is to "bookmatch" the two boards so you get a symmetrical grain arrangement across the two boards. That pair of boards, or a sequence of similar pairings, makes for a very special top. Book matched tops in solid wood are generally regarded as evidence of high quality work.

One of the many nice things about English Woodlands as a timber yard is that you can select consecutive boards from the flitch or boule, not only does this guarantee a superb colour match it also opens up the possibility of book matching.

Good luck!

Here's some bookmatching using sapwood (yew, in this case).

I think I had some yew big enough to avoid using the sapwood, but liked the effect.