Lines in Wood

[Gejodi2021]

Hi all...some help would be appreciated...I have a new warmoth mahogany body with maple top.  Attached are two pics of a line/mark in the mahogany finish.  I tried sanding a bit to remove but ng.  Are these lines normal?  Can they be sanded out withou going too deep?  Can they be sanded out at all or is this a condition of the wood for this body?

 

[mayfly]

Hi there,

Sadly, there are no photos attached.  We can't see what you're up against.

If it's a work defect, DO NOT TRY TO FIX IT.  Instead contact Warmoth customer support for replacement.

 

[Gejodi2021]

ill try again to post pics

 

[Gejodi2021]

Second pic

 

[Seamas]

Looks like it is the coloration of the wood itself

 

[PhilHill]

Kinda looks like planer snipe to me. Is it just a line or is it an actual depression in the surface? If it's just a line it could be, as Seamas says, just grain anomaly. If it's lower than the surrounding wood it could be a dent of some kind. Or the body got stuck in the thickness sander a moment. I'd get a hold of Warmoth and e-mail them the pics.

 

[Gejodi2021]

The surface is smoothe no indent or at least there doesnt appear to be.  I am worried that if I dye it will stick out like a sore thumb!!

 

[bagman67]

If you wet it with naphtha or acetone or even water, you'll get an idea how it will look with a clearcoat, which is *kinda* like how it will behave with stain.  If you decide to go ahead with the body, you should give the body a wash coat of lacquer or pre-stain conditioner or shellac before staining to minimize the effect uneven grain will have on stain penetration.

 

[Gejodi2021]

Bagman....warmoth called the line a flame in  wood??  Mahogany flame?  I think it is a defect but because I started sanding I wont return so I am stuck with this.  I was going to use an alcohol based dye and was going to put min wax pre conditioner on first then seal after dyeing.  Is this a good idea and are there any other suggestions to minimize these lines??

 

[bagman67]

Bagman....warmoth called the line a flame in  wood??  Mahogany flame?  I think it is a defect but because I started sanding I wont return so I am stuck with this.  I was going to use an alcohol based dye and was going to put min wax pre conditioner on first then seal after dyeing.  Is this a good idea and are there any other suggestions to minimize these lines??

I think they're probably right that it's a naturally occurring phenomenon.  The minwax conditioner should suit your purpose.  What color dye?  My experience is that the reddish brown of mahogany really shows through small-particle dyes, so a larger-particle pigment stain might be a better product for your job, unless you're going for something in the brown/red family.  See my travail documented here:


https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=16742.msg246987#msg246987

 

[Gejodi2021]

Bagman...I was going to use angelus leather dye alchol based with a turquois maple top and an oxblood or black mahogany body

 

[Rick]

When you run your finger over it, can you feel the anomaly?  If not, then it's the character of the wood and normal, something to be celebrated.  It's a lucky streak.  People pay extra! 

What are talking about a maple top for?

 

[DuckBaloo]

Since it ends at the seam between the two halves, I would say it's just a naturally occurring abnormality in the wood. If it were caused by the planer or CNC, it would probably continue across the joint. And yes, there is flamed mahogany. It will still appear in a dyed finish; I don't feel dye will make it more pronounced, but it won't hide it either. You have to decide if that's a dealbreaker or not. Wood is organic and each piece is unique and these little abnormalities usually endear them to me...but not always.

 

[Gejodi2021]

Rick... I never seen this before in mahogany,,,,and no there does not appear to be a dent or divet in wood rest of surface is all smoothe,  The body is mahognany with a quilt maple top.

 

[PhilHill]

If it's smooth then, as others have said, it's just part of the grain in that piece of wood. Natural occurrence  and  all that. In Cherry sometimes there will be resin pits that show as spots or black lines. Sometimes they come out in sanding, sometimes not. This stuff is just part of the grain sometimes. I've had similar looking grain in an otherwise perfect flame maple top. It just happens. It would cost a lot more for the wood if someone at the supplier went over it and picked out only the cleanest planks, and even then sometimes stuff will show up when you cut it down to close to finish size, as it's often not possible to tell it's there when the wood is still in planks or slabs.

 

[ragamuffin]

Beauty mark! Just a slight bit of figuring in the wood, I've had something similar on an ash body.

 

[Gejodi2021]

Ok thanks all for the input im gonna try the pre stain and dye combo ill keep my fingers crossed

 

[aarontunes]

Bagman....warmoth called the line a flame in  wood??  Mahogany flame?  I think it is a defect but because I started sanding I wont return so I am stuck with this.  I was going to use an alcohol based dye and was going to put min wax pre conditioner on first then seal after dyeing.  Is this a good idea and are there any other suggestions to minimize these lines??

Looks like you got a little bit of bonus flame in that piece. Yep...flame in Mahogany is definitely a thing. Even chatoyance.

Check out this Flame Mahogany neck from a few years back:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/FzoHRUtKibQ[/youtube]

 

[Rick]

I’ve seen it before.  It’s a beauty mark.

 

[dmraco]

Kinda looks like planer snipe to me. Is it just a line or is it an actual depression in the surface? If it's just a line it could be, as Seamas says, just grain anomaly. If it's lower than the surrounding wood it could be a dent of some kind. Or the body got stuck in the thickness sander a moment. I'd get a hold of Warmoth and e-mail them the pics.

Thats exactly what I thought.  Its in the right spot too.  IF YOU ARE SURE it is flat then it is discoloration.  You can easily feel snipe.  What does it look like wiped down with naphtha?