Does Box Elder smell?

[Gary Herrmann]

I cut a half log section of box elder into bowl blanks tonight. One side did seem a little punky, but the wood - especially one blank smelled like dirt, which to me means mold. I didn't see any, but maybe the wood has rotted.

I smelled the other piece of box elder I have that came from a different tree, and it smelled the same. Have I just had bad luck with box elder, or do they smell like that? Or are they prone to rot or something?

[John Chandler]

Does Box Elder smell? Not if you cut off its nose.

[Jim Ketron]

Yes it does sometimes!
I cut some highly figured BE with red flame in it that stunk like a hog pen!
That was some very stinky wood but it looked awesome finished.

[Reed Gray]

Any tree when it has started to rot can smell. I get a lot of big leaf maple that smells very sour. I did have some box elder that smelled the same. All cottonwood seems to smell that way. Some myrtle smells wonderful, and some stinks.
robo hippy

[Stephen Mushinski]

In a word - Yep!

I know people that will not burn Box Elder in the house do to the smell.

We in the north call it Manitoba Maple.

[John Hart]

This is just a supposition....but if you consider why flaming box elder has it's flame, it is caused by damage to the tree, either by box elder beetles or by impact, wind damage, chainsaw enthusiasts...etc. When the damage occurs, fungus creeps in, grows, and migrates through the tree, giving the spectacular coloration. This causes the smell.

Just a guess, and if anyone knows for sure, I would certainly be interested.

[Chris Barton]

I have a little different take on this than John. I have fould that many of the blanks I have gotten have a distinct "barnyard" kind of odor and have found that many of them came from pasture land and thus, smelled like the very rich soil they came from. Grown in cow flop = smells like cow flop.

[John Hart]

Hmmm...I hadn't thought about that Chris. That might be right.

[Gary Herrmann]

Thanks guys. I'll just have to see if I can hold my breath while I turn.

[Bill Wyko]

If you want a great smelling wood, Bubinga smells like chocolate coffee and Bocote smells like strong oranges.

[Jim Becker]

I'll pass on sniffing the bubinga, thank you very much...it's the one species that I've found a major sensitivity to!

[Bill Wyko]

I've been lucky so far. No reaction to any wood yet. That Bocote is pretty pungent though.

[Jason Slutsky]

Since we're talking about other woods...I turned a piece of Kiaat last week and it smelled great. Kinda like tobacco. And no I'm not trying to smoke the shavings.

[George Tokarev]

Box elder bark and sap smells like those weird ladybug-looking things that swarm inside in the fall do when you crush 'em. Not pleasant, not as bad as some things.

The areas where you get stagnant water in the tree, like the crotches and injured places where you also get the red can be really bad. More like willow than the beetle smell.

[Sam Sayger]

John, I think you're onto something there. I've cut Box Elder before and today, I cut some that had been blown down and broken up a few months ago. Tho it was still living, it was badly broken and WOW does it stinK!! I was a little concerned for a while but I wondered if it may be a fungus. Also, I had a little "sneezing spell" a little while later and the smell lingers in my "nose" (or memory) yet! Pretty bad and to me it was sort of "acidic - sour"?? Good thought John.
Sam