# SPALTED WOOD, what types have you seen?



## Boomr99 (Jul 1, 2009)

I think that spalted wood can be some of the most interesting and nicest woods. We have all heard of spalted maple, maybe spalted birch, and a few other woods (?) as being common for spalting.

In my wood collection I have a very nice piece of spalted zebrawood, and I also recently bought some spalted walnut! When I dig them out of the pile, I'll take some pictures to share.

So I though it would be fun to share what spalted woods you've come across? Anyone have some interesting species that has spalting? Share what you have seen, and if you can, a picture of it.

Ryan


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## Woodbear (Jan 2, 2010)

I have seen spalted oak and fir and alder. Actually you can spalt almost any hardwood or softwood also for that matter. All you have to do is create a compost pile. Place the piece you want spalted inside the pile. Keep the pile damp and regularly check your piece. Eventually it will begin to spalt. Spalting is cause by fungus that growes within the wood. You would be amazed at the designs spalting can create. Check out my projects for some spalted maple turnings. In my bowls pictures 3 and 4 are spalted maple. In my birdhouses pictures 2, 4 and 5 have spalted apple. You have to be cafeful turning spalded wood. Spalting makes the wood unstable somwhat. If you spalt the wood yourself be sure to keep an eye on it and stop the process before the wood becomes punky. To stop the process, just remove it from the pile and put it some where warm and dry and allow the piece to dry. There is a product called polycryl which will stabilize the wood making it workable, but it should be applied while the wood is still wet. It penetrates and replaces the water then hardens. Have fun with it.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I'm in the process of cutting up an old stump of cherry that is splated.


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## rtriplett (Nov 25, 2009)

I put some 3"x5" myrtlewood outside of my shop. After a few years, I found it and it has spalted. Very nice. I have also bought Spalted Beech from allen at Milwaukee woodworks. It was light with black and brown streaks.
Robert


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## BertFlores58 (May 26, 2010)

I have plenty mango wood that is already 3 to 4 years old and almost all of them are spalted with different shades of brown and black. The good thing is the contrast of the black spalt to the yellow mango timber. I have also some mahogany with spalt but only strips of wood that I use for inlays.


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## beckerswoodworks (Dec 26, 2009)

I've got a box made from Spalted Mango in my projects and have a few more pieces of it that I haven't decided what to do with yet. I'm also working on a couple of other small boxes using some peices of spalted wood that I pulled out of my pile of firewood. I think they're apple but might be maple. And i have a few peices of spalted Paduak that I plan to make a box with eventually.


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## Boomr99 (Jul 1, 2009)

Thats awesome. 
Bert, any interest in parting with some of that spalted mango?? 
Don, I looked at your spalted mango box on your projects page, very very nice! Great work!

Ryan


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## spclPatrolGroup (Jun 23, 2010)

I found a piece of spalter cherry in with the normal stuff at the big box store, I bought it, but haven't found a use for it yet, its only 6'x3'.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

I have personally worked with spalted maple, elm, cherry, and sycamore. All were beautiful in their own way.


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## beckerswoodworks (Dec 26, 2009)

Thanks Ryan!


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## Daren (Sep 16, 2007)

I spalt and mill many species, sycamore-sweetgum-maple-hackberry-birch…I may post more pictures later, here are some spalted and figured maple turning blanks.









Here is a 25" wide spalted curly maple slab on the sawmill.


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## Daren (Sep 16, 2007)

Spalted white oak.















!







!


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## woodprof (Aug 31, 2009)

I've got some spalted applewood from some old apple trees in my backyard that are slowly dying of old age. Only big enough for pen blanks though, so far.


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## Boomr99 (Jul 1, 2009)

Wow, awesome. Thanks for the Pics Daren! That wide maple board is fantastic! Did you make anything out of it yet?
Spalted white oak would be amazing. Is that your log and did you have any of it quarter sawn? I'd love to see if the same chatoyance exists as on regular QS white oak.

Thanks guys, keep the pics coming to!


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Daren, you've got some fantastic wood there!


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## Daren (Sep 16, 2007)

Ryan, I made some stuff from that wide lumber…but sold most of it. It was a big tree and I got almost 1000 bft from it, probably 600 bft of 24" wide stock…here are 2 in a bookmatch (notice the framing square on top of one of the slabs)









Here is some spalted curly redbud, it's hard to see the curl fresh sawn, but it's there.









And a slice of spalted maple burl.









More maple









Hackberry


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## Daren (Sep 16, 2007)

Charlie It takes some work and time…This is my spalt pile. Only about 75 logs right now (I live in town) in the shade of a huge tulip poplar.

















30" sweetgum, looking good, it will be ready this fall









A couple sycamores, 40" and 42"...I have some 50''+ on the bottom of the pile. They will all be ready soon too.


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## CampD (Nov 8, 2008)

Cherry, Maple, Yellow Birch, Beech and Ash also got plenty of white pine, but thats not as pretty.
Got some nice spalted cherry burl

some maple ready to be opened


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## studie (Oct 14, 2009)

I have some big leaf maple and some cherry logs that I have been kicking myself for not having them milled into planks when they were green. I wonder if I should try to spalt them and then mill or if they can still be made into boards even after 1 year?


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

how long does it typically take to have the wood spalt?


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## Ole (Dec 23, 2009)

I have some spalted souther yellow pine that I picked up as a 2X10 a while back. I like going through the big box stores on occasion to check if they are hiding any spalted lumber.


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

I'm a big fan of spalted hackberry and sycamore. Both seem to be able to spalt nicely without losing structural integrity. From my experience, spalted maple is rotten maple with very little structural integrity.

I've not had experience with other spalted woods.


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## Daren (Sep 16, 2007)

chrisstef, Depends on species for one thing on how long. In Illinois (since the logs are frozen solid a few months) a year minimum from standing alive to anything decent spalt wise for most species. Like the sweetgum and sycamore were cut in the late spring of 2009 and be milled fall 2010. The birch spalted in less than a year and some hard maple I have is going on 2 years and not quite ready. Soft maple spalts faster (but not as cool looking) than hard maple. If a guy gets lucky and finds a standing dead hardwood that has already started spalting then maybe just need a few months in the laydown to get good results.


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## mark88 (Jun 8, 2009)

a buddy of mine actually just gave me some spalted maple…its nice stuff but I'm not a big fan of it


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## RWJones (Jul 10, 2010)

Here in the Florida Panhandle, spalted pecan is plentiful.


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## Menini (Mar 13, 2016)

> Spalted white oak.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OMG!! Spectacular woods!!!


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## JADobson (Aug 14, 2012)

This is a jeweler box I did for my wife and one for my sister with spalted birch (same board. It was really soft and would almost turn to dust while being worked. It hardened up nicely once I got some finish on it though.

The project card doesn't seem to be showing up properly so you just get links today.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/123753

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/146874


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