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Thread: Spalted colours
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15th January 2021, 05:53 PM #1Senior Member
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Spalted colours
Never used to really like the appearance of spalted wood
Heap it and burn it
However,over time I have come to appreciate the colours and crazy patterning that it often presents
Contrasts wonderfully with the sapwood
Little wonder some punters love it!
Here's a pic or too of Acacia to enjoy
Mr Fiddleback
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15th January 2021 05:53 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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17th January 2021, 02:10 PM #2
Yes, I'm sure I would have encountered spalting back in the beginning of my woodworking life, but almost certainly would have bypassed it in favor of "sound" pieces. Then in the 70s, I saw the creative ways James Krenov used it & became an instant fan.
It can be frustrating, though, you need to catch it when the spalt lines are well-formed but before the fungus causes significant deterioration in the wood, unless you want to muck about infusing the decayed parts with resin or whatever. I was given a pile of Jacaranda a while ago, which had some very nice patches, but most of it was too punky to use for much.
My best score was from a bloke who had taken up turning, and went out & collected a pile of stuff, then lost interest. He had a half-dozen good-sized billets of mango which he was going to toss on the fire 'cos it had "gone bad". I offered to relieve him of the job of disposing of it, suspecting there might be gold in some of the billets. There was lots, and the wood was mostly as sound as a bell! I got numerous pieces that made a nice bowl or two & some lovely book-mached panels. Here's a book-matched panel on one of my tool cupboards. I think this one warped a bit after it was split & I had to plane the faces back more than usual, so the bookmatch isn't as good as it could be, but you can still see a reasonably symmetrical pattern: Spalted mango.jpg
Part of the attraction for me of fiddleback, quilting, spalting or some of the other types of "defects" in wood is that each piece is unique - no two pieces are ever the same...
Cheers,IW
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17th January 2021, 06:04 PM #3Senior Member
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This piece is all sapwood but still firm
Too pretty to toast
The spalt and fiddleback together work i.m.o
Mr Fiddleback
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17th January 2021, 09:55 PM #4Taking a break
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Not sure if this is spalting or not, but something has definitely changed these bits of US White Oak, not just in colour, but it's much denser and smells sweeter as well.
PXL_20210117_104846759.jpgPXL_20210117_104746090.jpg
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18th January 2021, 01:05 AM #5
I'll post in the morning, but use this as a placeholder.
A while back I spent some time talking with a SCIENTIST about this and she wrote a whole PhD in it. She gave me a copy plus a few hefty articles on how to get it perfectly right.
She has even collected inoculations for the soil to trigger various colours, stripes, lines, etc. It's excellent.
I'll put everything up tomorrow. She gave me prior permission to do so.
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18th January 2021, 07:27 AM #6
Elan, I think it would. According to the Wikipedia definition: "Spalting is any form of wood coloration caused by fungi."
So bluestain is spalting. 30 Done & dusted.jpg
I'm not so keen on the 'smeary' types of spalting like this, but some like them for the variety of colours they can impart to the wood.The spalting patterns I like most are the fine black lines caused by a particular group.
Here's a bit of a primer from FWW, while WP gets his thesis ready....
Cheers,IW
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18th January 2021, 10:49 AM #7Senior Member
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I like the dark lines as in this pic
Mr Fiddleback
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18th January 2021, 11:45 AM #8
Here we go!
Sara C. Robinson
Assistant Professor, Anatomy of Renewable Materials
Department of Wood Science and Engineering
Oregon State University
These are the emails I have for her, but they are 7 years old(!) : Sara Robinson <[email protected]> and : [email protected]
and this is the site she ran: Northern Spalting - Working at the intersection of art, science and craft
Keep in mind all this info is old and as of writing I've not checked to make sure its current.....
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18th January 2021, 11:47 AM #9
bloody hell! Theres even a book now!
Spalted Wood: The History, Science, and Art of a Unique Material - $60.00 : Schiffer Publishing
ISBN13: 9780764350382
9780764350382.jpg
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18th January 2021, 10:11 PM #10Senior Member
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20th January 2021, 07:42 AM #11Senior Member
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More Spalting
A lot of the spalting here in the UK is in Beech (usually Fagus sylvatica L. [Fagaceae].
Some of this was delivered by the log man, also some Holly but the spalting on that was not so attractive, both were c==p for burning but turned OK although a bit punky and soaked up the sanding sealer....
Not a problem now as Father Christmas brought me some Cactus Juice.
MarkWhat you say & what people hear are not always the same thing.
http://www.remark.me.uk/
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20th January 2021, 08:58 AM #12
"Cactus Juice"????
Tell us more......
IW
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20th January 2021, 10:08 AM #13GOLD MEMBER
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20th January 2021, 10:08 AM #14
Its a stabilising resin, drawn into the wood under vacuum, then cured in an oven. All sorts of uses, pen blanks, tool handles, knife scales, etc. Check it out at the makers website
TurnTex, LLC
Timberbits is an agent in Australia.Brad.
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20th January 2021, 06:14 PM #15
OK, it just sounded like something you might apply (internally) to the turner rather than the turning.....
I've filed it for future reference....
Cheers,IW
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