I have turned a fair amount of standard exotic hardwoods but am now interested is some spalted woods. Two that look great are spalted Pecan and Elm, but I can't find any sources for purchase. Anyone know of some sources? Thanks.
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Spalted Wood
- Thread starter LANKFORD
- Start date
You may know this but spalted wood has spores that can get in your lungs, nose etc. and grow. I had a heck of a time getting rid of this and now have to wear a mask to work in my shop.
Ron
Ron
There is a thread in the "how-to" section about spalting wood.
this is a link to it.
spalted wood info
Also if you do a google search using argument "spalted"
you will get a lot of misc and sundry hits.
use a respirator when turning and finishing spaletd wood. It can really screw up the respiratory system
this is a link to it.
spalted wood info
Also if you do a google search using argument "spalted"
you will get a lot of misc and sundry hits.
use a respirator when turning and finishing spaletd wood. It can really screw up the respiratory system
Last edited:
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
What I do is get some freshly cut Pecan, Maple or Sycamore and spalt it myself. You can wrap it in plastic, sealing off the air, and it will grow as long as the conditions are good. Not to cold or it will go into dormancy, too hot and it dies. Elm spalts too, but the lines aren't as prevalent.
You can then turn it wet and bag it again, or slowly air dry it.
Alot of the spalted woods you would purchase are a crap shoot in that they will often get too far along in the decay process and are real punky.
You can then turn it wet and bag it again, or slowly air dry it.
Alot of the spalted woods you would purchase are a crap shoot in that they will often get too far along in the decay process and are real punky.
I know advertising is not allowed on this forum and I respect that. However, the question was asked so I am answering. If the mods feel it is in bad taste or a violation of the rules, please delete and let me know
That said, I have a little web business selling turning stock to raise money for our adoption legal expenses. I have great spalted pecan and spalted hackberry as well as non-spalted mesquite. My website is www.adoptwood.com.
As mentioned by Steve, if you can get pecan, then it is pretty easy to spalt it yourself. The pecan I have is spalted "in the wild" but my spalted hackberry is material I spalt myself. It just takes a little time.
For the hackberry, I cut the pith out of logs with my sawmill and then place them on some plastic on the ground under some shade trees behind my shop. I then cover the 1/2 logs with sawdust from the mill and wet it all down. I let it set for 3-6 months and then dig it out and finish cutting into blanks. Works great.
That said, I have a little web business selling turning stock to raise money for our adoption legal expenses. I have great spalted pecan and spalted hackberry as well as non-spalted mesquite. My website is www.adoptwood.com.
As mentioned by Steve, if you can get pecan, then it is pretty easy to spalt it yourself. The pecan I have is spalted "in the wild" but my spalted hackberry is material I spalt myself. It just takes a little time.
For the hackberry, I cut the pith out of logs with my sawmill and then place them on some plastic on the ground under some shade trees behind my shop. I then cover the 1/2 logs with sawdust from the mill and wet it all down. I let it set for 3-6 months and then dig it out and finish cutting into blanks. Works great.
Thanks people for your input. I guess I am dreaming that kiln dried spalted wood would be available somewhere. Though seems at one time I bought some spalted maple dried that I used for rectangular box tops.
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
You aren't dreaming. But it is usually only in board or smaller turning stock.
A good example would be spalted maple and tamarind.
A good example would be spalted maple and tamarind.