The other day I visited a local woodworking store and they had this beautiful Ambrosia Maple. I knew right away that I would make at least one cross out of it. The price was too high but I could not pass it up. You have to see this wood up close so at the risk of showing my poor cutting technique you can click the picture above and it links to a larger version.Ambrosia Maple has these beautiful flowing stains and holes that are created by the Ambrosia beetle. The beetle bores into the tree and introduces two types of fungus. One of the fungus's stains the wood around the hole resulting in beautiful flowing streaks. There are several varieties of Ambrosia beetle and the are all ugly as sin but they are fantastic artists.
If you get a chance to pick up some Ambrosia maple take it. It cuts very well and finishes beautifully.
I have been studying chip carving patterns lately to try to understand the beautiful geometric designs they come up with. I decided to use the chip carving influence in this pattern. The cross stands 10 1/2" tall.
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