Spalted wood

[GunnyGene]

I do a little spalting of some of my trees for personal use, primarily to avoid paying outrageous retail prices for partially rotten wood, but also because it is always unique and beautiful if done properly.

Spalted wood has become a very popular material in the past 10 years or so for all sorts of projects, including knife scales, pistol grips, stocks, guitars, etc. It's also become quite expensive if you buy it retail. But fear not, you don't have to take your chances in the woods hunting down a log that might or might not be worth cutting up, or pay outrageous retail prices for it. You can do it yourself with a little patience.

For anyone interested in spalting their own maple, beech, birch or other woods it has become a scientifically researched and easy to do process.

Here's a couple links that will get you started from one of the leading authorities of this art/science.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/blog/woodworking-life/tag/spalting

and the authors (Sarah Robinson, aka Dr. Spalting ) website:
http://www.northernspalting.com/

Happy Spalting! :grin:

 

[Sperit de bois]

And once you have the "starter" you can use the saw dust and shavings to create more splated wood.I been trying to splate some cherry burls I have ,,,still waiting...

 

[GunnyGene]

Some woods spalt easier than others, either naturally or with a little help. You may not have the right fungus for your cherry if it's been cooking for a few months with no results, or the fungus may have died.

With sawdust as a starter, it's not a sure thing because it dries out very quickly which will kill any spores that may have been there, unless you've kept it moist, etc. right from the start.

If you can find a cherry stump with stuff growing on it, you could harvest that to kick start your cherry.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I do wood turning and spalted items are very attractive and popular.
I also have tried my own spalting with no real success.
Often I'll stabilize my wood blanks or the finished item. That is a process of impregnating the wood with acrylic. I have a vacuum chamber set-up to do that.
Be advised, spalting does not always stop when the wood is dry. I made my wife a rolling pin from (not spalted) Bradford pear. Now, several years after making it, it is spalting something fierce. It is too big for my stabilizing pot and I'm not sure what to do.

 

[GunnyGene]

Be advised, spalting does not always stop when the wood is dry. I made my wife a rolling pin from (not spalted) Bradford pear. Now, several years after making it, it is spalting something fierce. It is too big for my stabilizing pot and I'm not sure what to do.

That's true, unless the spores that are naturally in the wood have been completely killed, they will regenerate under the right conditions of moisture, warmth and darkness. Which is what a rolling pin provides, in addition to yeast.

You could try microwaving it, although that can result in cracking, etc. . The general rule is 1 min on, 20 minutes off for several cycles.

Here's a general method from the Dr.:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/21404/spalt-your-own-lumber-drying-spalted-wood