: I noticed this weekend that the edges of some of my strips have
: some dark spots on them. The strips came from the center section
: of a 4"X6"X10' piece of cedar. The spots are only on
: the edges and only on a handful of the strips. All of the strips
: were also run through the planer and the spots did not show up
: until a few days after being milled so I don't think it is saw
: marks. Again, the spots are also only on the edges of the
: strips, not the "face". These strips were going to
: make up the bulk of my hull so it has me worried. Is this sap?
: Should I be worried about fiberglass and epoxy not sticking?

: This is my first post here and I hope the picture shows up.

: Thanks,
: Toby

If it's coming from inside the timber it seems to be rising up parallel to the ring structure. If it is fungus or some-such it may migrate through the grain layers in time and show up on the flat.

I would find out what it is before using it. At the moment it is just raw strips, next week it could be part of a beloved boat. I would equate this to not being sure if you added hardener to a batch of resin or not. Better off to err on the side of caution and chuck it out, even if you find out later that it set up OK. Measure twice before cutting.

my 2p

Welcome to the club Toby. There are no definite answers here, only lots and lots of opinions...

Etienne