Boy thats a pretty color. If there was any way to preserve that, you could make a nice box top or knife back drop with that. Ironically it even looks like a flame!
It burns great, and seasons quickly too. But yeah, it's nearly always gnarly. If it's in my way, or too good to pass up, I'll take it.
I've read that the red color lasts indefinitely if sealed and coated and not exposed to UV. UV will bleach it out eventually. Stored inside, I have seen bowls and the like that have been around for many many years that still look great. . My table is inside and still looks the same after 5 years. It doesn't have as much of the red flaming, but what it does have is still the same.
The red will stay very pronounced if the wood is sealed, finished and not put in direct sunlight. Even if your favorite famed box elder bowl looses its color, just strip it, sand it and refinish it and the color will return. Even in the wood pile if you find a split you think is box elder but you're not sure, resplit it and splash some water on it and you will see the red.
Around three years ago, I scrounged a load or two of box elder and split it up for the OWB. Nice but by the time I burnt it, color was very light. Should've saved some!
