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debugging spalted maple logs.
- Thread starter Don Kawalek
- Start date
Don, I think you should just turn away.... I turn green to final thickness, and don't worry about warping, or any bugs that might be in the green wood. I've certainly found bug "parts" in holes as I turn. Compressed air works wonders in these circumstances. If you're turning thick and re-turning, you could always use a kiln to raise the temperature enough to kill bugs, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anything that would make the bugs leave their holes. Plus, there's chemical exposure to yourself and the food that might be in contact with the bowl in the future.
interesting response to debugging issue. i turned some green spalted bowls before Christmas that were wormy. i try to put enough finish on to trap them inside or kill them from the urethane, however i gave one to my daughter-in-law that apparently had super worms in it. after a couple months on their end table they mysteriously found a little pile of sawdust by the bowl, cleaned it up and a couple days later, another little pile appeared. this one had a worm crawling around in it! apparently it got warm enough in their house that he went out for a stroll😀 so beware they're tough little buggers 😉
I must be honest with you. Most of the wood I will be using as rosettes for my Guitars and other instruments I build. I will have enough left, however to
do some turning. So I find it interesting to know you use the worm holes and all.
Don
do some turning. So I find it interesting to know you use the worm holes and all.
Don
Don,
I got a tool handle many years ago from Craft supply and a few days in sunny Florida and I found holes and wood dust by the handles. Nothing serious but a bit worrisome if they decided to get at some of my other wood, which really isn't a concern as most bugs, except termites, when they leave the wood are in adult form and are not going to harm other wood. If I find one that is a problem, like ants, I put the wood in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for a few days. This gets most of them, but not all. I don't like using chemicals as turning and sanding can put the chemicals into the air for me to breath, but sometimes that's the only way. Fogging chemicals work the best as soaking in chemicals can mess up the wood color.
I got a tool handle many years ago from Craft supply and a few days in sunny Florida and I found holes and wood dust by the handles. Nothing serious but a bit worrisome if they decided to get at some of my other wood, which really isn't a concern as most bugs, except termites, when they leave the wood are in adult form and are not going to harm other wood. If I find one that is a problem, like ants, I put the wood in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for a few days. This gets most of them, but not all. I don't like using chemicals as turning and sanding can put the chemicals into the air for me to breath, but sometimes that's the only way. Fogging chemicals work the best as soaking in chemicals can mess up the wood color.
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
Typically, it would be fumigated by putting in a container and using industrial strength nasty fumed insecticides and stored in there for a few days.
Others have submerged the logs in mineral spirits for a day, using a drum load of the stuff.
Another is to take a large syringe (available at feed store or vet supplies) of acetone, mineral spirits, something like that, and shoot it into the holes themselves. That would work for grubs or larvae, but probably not beetles.
Others have submerged the logs in mineral spirits for a day, using a drum load of the stuff.
Another is to take a large syringe (available at feed store or vet supplies) of acetone, mineral spirits, something like that, and shoot it into the holes themselves. That would work for grubs or larvae, but probably not beetles.
Most of the culprits have indeed been ants. I like the idea of the plastic bag in the sun for a few hours. These pieces are a bit to big for a freezer. I think heat would have the same affect and might even act as a kiln and hasten the drying time. I am no hurry to use the stuff. I have feelers out for two other trees that I know of are spalted inside.
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I live above 46 N , and the winter does not seem to affect carpenter ants, powderpost beetles or those big black weevils that live under the bark. No termites, though. 😀 Save your freezer space for something else besides inducing dormancy.
I favor a close container and a dose of naphthalene or p-dichlorobenzine. Moth balls. Odor clears pretty rapidly, and the LD50 is up high enough to feel comfortable about a bowl so treated. http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/n0090.htm
See what you've got with http://www.upcrc.com/guides/wdamage/dwood.htm
Or this. http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/b-5086.html
I favor a close container and a dose of naphthalene or p-dichlorobenzine. Moth balls. Odor clears pretty rapidly, and the LD50 is up high enough to feel comfortable about a bowl so treated. http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/n0090.htm
See what you've got with http://www.upcrc.com/guides/wdamage/dwood.htm
Or this. http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/b-5086.html
Robert Manning
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Microwave the rough-out. That will kill the bugs and works as a nice fragrance for the house.
Maybe you should do it outside or in a dedicated microwave or better yet someone elses microwave.
🙂
Maybe you should do it outside or in a dedicated microwave or better yet someone elses microwave.
🙂
I think that's supposed to be 6 hours, not six minutes. Here's another link about kiln temperature and exposure times.
before turning i put the piece in aplastic bag, spray insecticide in bag. seal and let stand for few days. has worked for me.
140 degrees
I have been experimenting with leaving my blanks in the oven at 140 degrees over night to kill the bugs in my spalted Pecan. I have never found the bugs more than a couple of inches deep in the wood.
I have been experimenting with leaving my blanks in the oven at 140 degrees over night to kill the bugs in my spalted Pecan. I have never found the bugs more than a couple of inches deep in the wood.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I don't know which bugs it kills but moth balls do the job. Put it in a plastic bag with some Moth balls and leave it for a few days. I had friend do that with a finished piece that had bugs and it worked.
Another vote for moth balls. I bought a big heavy duty paper bag from Lowe's (the kind that is used for yard waste) filled the bottom with moth balls and put it in the corner of the shop. Any time I get wormy wood I drop it in the bag a couple days. I have not had any surprise visitors since I started doing it. I keep the bag folded over a few times and and clipped shut and the moth balls last a long time. Just make sure you open it outside. 🙂
I do thank you all for your help. The "spritz" of bug killer, along with the sealed up black plastic bag in the sun did the trick. I do hope I have not messed up my Karma but they were messing with my newly found treasure.🙂
Don
Don
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
I found a dead spider under a bowl after a couple weeks. Isn't always worms, must have been a bad *** spider.