spalted wood

[TBoomz]

is it better to turn spalted wood dry or green.

 

[Warren]

I've had better luck when dry. Keep tools sharp or lots of 60 grit sandpaper as some species have bad fuzzies on end grain.

 

[Roy G]

If it's spalted, the fungi is still there. If the wood is kept damp, the spalting will continue and sometimes make the wood useless. If you have a piece that has some good spalting shown, I would turn it green and then dry it out.

Roy G

 

[wndopdlr]

I do mostly twice turning so do it both ways. If you can catch the spalting before the wood begins to degenerate and get pithy, then no problems. If it has progressed too far, I will sometimes use shellac based sanding sealer to strengthen the fibers.

Some woods deconstruct or rot quicker than others. I swear that Sycamore goes from spalting to rot overnight. Hickory and Elm have a lot longer work time and I have never seen Bradford Pear spalt. Like Roy pointed out, Spalting needs moisture, so when you get the wood where you want it, make a bowl blank out of it and put it somewhere dry.

 

[Rwe2156]

Roy is correct. Spalted wood needs to be kiln dried. Be sure there’s not already insect infestation!

 

[wndopdlr]

DrBob-Please inform us. I want to learn also. I do not kiln dry my bowl blanks including ones with heavy spalting. I cut them round on the bandsaw, coat the entire thing with Anchorseal2 and put them in my work shop which is conditioned space, and the spalted wood degradation seems to stop. I have bowl blanks that are years old that have not deteriorated.

Bugs are another matter.

 

[Rwe2156]

@wndopdlr what's saving you is keeping the wood indoors. Just be aware if there are any little holes and you see sawdust, the wood is infested with powder post beetles and needs to be kiln dried. A bowl blank can be put in the oven to kill the critters.

What I know is spalted wood by definition had to be laying around a while to develop, and it can't be kiln dried. Therefore, bugs can be an issue especially if the wood is stored outside. I don't know how spalting can occur indoors b/c the wood is going to dry out. I've heard of people keeping the lumber imbedded in wet shavings. I'm only saying that due to my experience with PPB infestations, emergence coming over 3 years later in finished furniture. Certainly if any holes are seen in spalted (or any) lumber, you need to be prepared to kiln dry it.

One of the stiles in this door was spalted and I used it anyway. Later I found out it was not kiln dried you see the result. That was my fault there was a kiln on the premises and I made an incorrect assumption. Why the heck I used that board, I don't know. As you can see, I ended up removing the entire stile. The area routed out was a test to see if I could patch it.

None of this may even apply to what you're doing. I'm just saying spalted = wet wood and exposure risks beetle infestations.

Several years ago I had a maple tree taken down after a storm. I set a very large section of log under an oak tree and let nature take it's course. A couple years later when we sawed it, it was definitely spalted, and there were also grubs, huge tracts and several other insects in there. I couldn't believe how fast it rotted!!

 

[HITCH-]

Be sure to wear a good respirator before you turn it.

 

[petebucy4638]

I have turned quite a few pieces of spalted timber. While the spalting adds some character to the wood, and it has been interesting to work with, I think that I am getting over it, at least for now.

I still have a couple dozen spalted blanks that I bought from Klingspor. The average moisture content is around 22%, and they are kept indoors, so I don't expect them to deteriorate any time soon. I may work my way through them, or save a few for some future project.