Thread: Spalted wood. What is it? What's it look like?

Denmason made the first Spalted Scales that I became exposed to. I've seen bowl and brush that KilowattKid made.
These SPALTED creations are terrific.
As I understand it..It's rotten wood just before the decay reaches some unknown, to me, level.
So how do I determine SPALTED wood?
What's it look like in it's native, raw, state?
I figure woodpiles are a great source for this. Large diameters and different types. The grain...I probably mean the spalting....is a darkish line in the grain of the wood.

There's probably lots more questions that I don't know to ask...so ask and answer them here please.
Posting pics of spalted stuff is VERY cool too.

Scales!!!
Razor boxes!!
brushes!!!
bowls!!!
There's no end to spalting...

Yeah, wood that has fungus eating away at it. That's the gist of spalting. You might want to snoop around at some lumberyards and ask if they have any rotted wood. That's what one of my dad's friends did, and he ended up with a couple dozen billets of spalted maple from the mountains of NC. I'd think getting the wood to stabilize and working with it would be a little difficult, considering it might crumble, but I think epoxy or a cyanoacrylate glue would work just fine for it. Wood crotches and trees with slightly decayed spaces where branches used to be would be prime candidates I think.

Originally Posted by TOB9595

Scales!!!
Razor boxes!!
brushes!!!
bowls!!!
There's no end to spalting...

Pace yourself, buddy!

If you haven't seen quilted, curly, or birdseye figured wood, you ain't seen nothing yet!

Here's quilted:http://www.mlprice.com/woodwork/_MG_3979web2.jpg

Birdseye: http://threepagodas.net/img/custom/f...dseyeMaple.jpg

Crotch: http://www.customcabinetmakers.com/p.../cmahogany.jpg

The out edges of the piece show no spalting, I had to cut into it to discover. You should be able to tell from the end grain though, you want the thin "inky" lines. At that point it is prime.

Thats some awesome birdseye you gotta pic of there!!

Here is some quilted maple on one of my mandolins.

I like burl. I have long slat trimming from another project that is quarter sawn birdseye but it is a little too narrow for scales, but it will make some nice pen blanks. I have a hunk of walnut burl with some super figuring in it and no bark intrusions. It should be just enough to make 3 or 4 sets of scales, that is next on my scale list.

Spalted wood
Wood which is in the first stages of fungal decay, ie rot. Very often it is made manifest by irregular dark, or black, lines which run through the material. It is most common in beech but is found in many other hard woods. The fungae require damp conditions in which to grow; when the wood is dried (below about 20% MC) the fungae die and the process ceases.

This thread got me thinking. I picked up a load of maple for firewood a couple weeks ago. I just went out back and grabbed one that had a hint of coloring on it, and sliced it in half. Surprise Surprise.

Fotoguru, that pic is an excellent example of spalting...
I see that you'll be a bit busy slicing these up

It's not the prettiest spalting, but it will look nice finished. It's still wet wood though, so it'll be quite some time before this makes it into the rotation.

Originally Posted by TOB9595

Fotoguru, that pic is an excellent example of spalting...
I see that you'll be a bit busy slicing these up