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Spalted Exotics and Spalting in Tropical Hardwood

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  VillageBoy 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Lately I have been seeing a bunch of cool projects using spalted domestic woods like pecan, maple, and even some spalted persimmons.

Recently I purchased some wicked Padauk (natural/semi natural edge slabs) and noticed stains in the sapwood….. So I thought. I tried a wet rag to wipe the "stains" away and nothing happened. So I sanded the entire board down and cut the end grains on the miter saw.

Thats when it clicked. I had unknowingly bought a great slab of "Spalted" Padauk!! Until now I have only seen spalted domestic woods.

Now I'm a relative novice at word working, so I am wondering if I found something special or is it fairly common to find stuff like this?

Is this a pretty regular occurrence? Has any one else seen spalted tropical hardwoods?

Here is two book match pieces I resawed from one of the slabs, and some close ups.
(I will post more/better pics later this morning)

Brown Wood Fixture Rectangle Material property
Brown Wood Rectangle Wood stain Flooring


Brown Ecoregion Rectangle Wood Wood stain


Brown Wood World Trunk Tints and shades


A pair of spalted friends. Gabon Ebony meets Spalted Padouk :))

Wood Tree Floor Building Hardwood


Wood Gloat Preview:

Spalted Black & White Gabon Ebony

Automotive tire Wood Tread Tints and shades Wood stain


Wood Hardwood Wood stain Denim Rectangle


Brown Rectangle Textile Sleeve Grey


_The Pursuit of Wicked Gorgeous Lumber, A Noble Undertaking

Village Boy~
 

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#3 ·
Having never seen Paduak sapwood, is there a chance that it always spalts? I would not know. In any case, too bad it is so thin in relationship to the rest of the board. Still, it will make very neat accent colors in whatever you build with this Paduak.
 
#4 ·
So far, I have only found 2 slabs out of 8 that have the spalted figure in the sapwood.

This morning I have been working with some Gabon Ebony I bought from the same guy, and lo and behold the sapwood is once again Spalted!!!

Am I dreaming here or this more common than I know because I'm still a rookie?

Post the pics in another hour after I lightly sand the board to make sure I'm not jst sleep deprived and wanting to see what I want to see….

Thanks for the input, I appreciate all opinions.

--Village Boy~
 
#6 ·
Most all sapwoods rot, but some look nice as they do so we call it "spalting". Much nicer term, I think anyway. Anyway, it's more likely your wood source uses a sawyer that leaves their wood in the weather for a while before slicing it up. Most places prefer fresh wood, but many like spalted stuff. What the heck, looks good from here. So long as it isn't pithy it should be just fine.
 
#7 ·
Yep so far, the spalted areas of the boards are not pithy, some have bug holes, and the rest look like the spalted patterns were drawn on with a calligraphy pen!

Cleaned up the spalted Gabon Ebony board and adding pics today.

I have just never encountered spalted hardwoods from Africa before and wondered if it was fairly normal to see stuff like this or not.

Going to pick up a few more boards this week and I'm hoping for a wood gloat!

The Pursuit of Wicked Gorgeous Lumber, A Noble Undertaking

Village Boy~
 
#8 ·
Spalted Gabon Ebony.

Table Wood Natural material Wood stain Floor


Table Wood Calabaza Hardwood Pumpkin


Never heard of this one yet. I think this piece might need one wood gloat. Tell me what you guys think.

I think this spalting stuff is pretty cool. There is I think some mineral coloration in pinks and blues and light grey water stain patterns.

I post more pics on my wood gloat.

The Pursuit of Wicked Gorgeous Lumber, A Noble Undertaking

Village Boy~
 

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