what is that dark spot above the cursor? The break looks like a tension break, across the crown
was looking nice, is it osage? Stained on the back?, Almost looks toasted?
That's just a tiny piece of missing wood causing a shadow, the wood is not blemished in that spot as far as I can see, at least on the back. No stain or toasting done.
Flem
although I'm not 100% sure, I don't remember that I heated it at all and a quick check again makes me think that's still right. I believe I split the sister billets from a larger piece that had been sitting around for a few years, then roughed it out before another pause, which may(?) account for the darkened areas.
Gives me confidence going forward to do some more splicing though, as I have plenty of billets stashed away in pairs.