Sapele cracks

[Paul Burnside]

My most recent builds have laminated necks containing sapele. After completion, I have discovered these discolorations in the wood - see attached. The heel of one neck is on the top, and the headstock of the second is on the bottom. Both necks were cut from the same blank. The marks have not required filling and have not cracked the French polish finish.
I haven't worked with sapele before. Has anyone else encountered these? If so, any thoughts on their significance? Thanks.

[David King]

Wind checking? Sometimes when they drop big trees the tops will hit the ground pretty fast and they'll get little hairline fractures or sometimes very large ones

[Clay Schaeffer]

Looks like compression fractures. If they are not in the neck shaft, and being a laminated neck I wouldn't worry about them too much.

[Michael Lewis]

Did these cracks show up only after finishing, or were they apparent before? Are they actually voids in the wood or do they just look like it?

[Paul Burnside]

They only showed up after finishing.
They have not required filling, so they do not appear to be voids.

[Michael Lewis]

Very curious. Maybe examination with a strong magnifying glass, or close up zoom with a digital camera will reveal whether it is actually 'figure' in the wood or not.