hard maple end grain color issue

[Ben Abate]

I ve read all the posts saying it's the glue or the non existing walnut. Is it possible that the oil from the teak is causing the problem? If you still have access to the wide belt, try to sand one of the boards again but first wipe it down with denatured alcohol. Let the alcohol dispense or it will give you the same problem. But do it in a timely fashion so the oils are still below the surface. Does this make any sense. Teak is oily and dense the oil and the saw dust seem to be combining to creat the smear. The heat of the belts or sander just keeps spreading it.

This is is what I think is going on hear

[Andrew Hughes]

Well I still say it's water from the glue.How often do we see the affects of glue on end grain?
Heres maple and cherry that was planed with a Bryd head and the maple has liteness around the edges and the cherry does too.It has mellow some but I can still notice it.
No sanding was done.

[Steve Demuth]

Charlie,

Whatever the effect is, it is mediated both by the wood, and the glue-up. You can easily see that there is a component of the effect that carries elements of the pattern across adjacent pieces of maple, which strongly indicates that some aspect of the wood grain structure that is consistent in the board over multiple inches of it's original length is at play. There is also, as you called out, a pronounced edge effect. So, my working hypothesis would be glue (or glue elements, like water), or possibly but less likely, oils from the teak, that has differential mobility in the maple due to structural effects in the wood, is causing the color effect. I'd love to be able get a sample under a microscope and even run a few mass spec / GC samples. Might be a learning moment.

[glenn bradley]

I notice that with end or edge grain. Never gave it much thought.

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[Sean Hagerty]

Did you use Mineral Oil on these? I don't see the discoloration in mine until I put the oil on, then as it soaks in, the darkening starts.

Why does it appear to be splotchy or not as prominent near the edges or in the middle? No clue, but take a piece of unglued maple scrap and rub your finish on it. I bet you see the same thing.

[Van Huskey]

I dunno but I actually think it looks cool...

[brian zawatsky]

That's happened to every end grain board I've made, regardless of species. Several dozen over the last couple years. I've also chalked it up to the glue. My hypothesis is that the glue is forced into the pores of the wood under pressure from clamping during lamination. This seals the pores around the edges of each block and prevents those areas from absorbing as much mineral oil as the center does, thus accounting for the difference in color. It's more noticeable on light colored woods, like maple.

[Chris Fournier]

Take a piece of your maple lumber and crosscut it. Do you see this colour variation in the raw lumber?

[Sam Blasco]

End grain is always interesting. The fibers act like a wick. I think you sanded too fine before applying the oil, closing things down and blocking some of the wicking action and getting variable penetration. Maple is tight and troublesome to begin with. Try going back and sanding only to 100 or 120 before adding the oil, then oil it several times over a couple of days, then wet sand with the oil as the lubricant in the 150 and 240 stages, and any subsequent stage sanding. Whenever I have an exposed end grain and want it to match the edge with the grain around the corner of a table top for instance, I will sand the end grain edge 3 times as fine as I do with the grain to block the wicking so that the end grain sides don't darken more than the two other edges.