# Wormy cherry boards



## alekhine (May 25, 2011)

I have eight cherry boards that are seriously damaged by wood beetles as you can see in the pictures. They are approximately 75cm x 27cm x 3cm (30" x 11" x 5/4"), air dried for a long time. The one in the middle is that i cleaned the holes with power carving tool. It took 3 hours to clean the holes in just one board so i started to think to myself is it worth this effort.

I will appreciate if you give your opinions for any of my questions:

1- What project would you build with these boards?
2- Is it safe to bring it home?
3- Would you fill the holes or leave them open (some of the openings go through to the other side)?
4- Or would you throw all of them to firewood pile?


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## Gshepherd (May 16, 2012)

Are they still infested? The board on your left at the top is that a worm still chowing down? I would not let any of it around my stash of good lumber. Looks like birdhouse lumber to me or something that you would make for outisde. As is it goes for weather it is worth the time or not that all depends upon you. I would not waste a lot of time myself on the holes except for some spar varnish…... You are already woundering what you are doing when you start questioning yourself. It would make for some good birhouse material and hey it comes with a free lunch for the new tenents….....


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Clean out the holes the best you can with a dental pick, cut them in half and put them in the oven on the lowest setting you can. Mine goes down to 170°F. Let them bake for a coupe of hours. That will kill all the bugs that are living.
I would make boxes and other crafts with them. Or sell them on eBay. Wormy wood is sometimes highly sought after.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Well, there's wormy wood…and then there's this stuff. I would maybe consider filling one with a thick glaze coat like Famo or something like that for an interesting side table top, but in reality, I could not use it. And the possibility of living insects in there would be enough for me to chuck it.


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## Mip (Sep 16, 2012)

I agree with Dallas and Tennessee. Hmm, two cities. Well I'm from Detroit, so now it's three. Anyway, clean up the lumber as best you can, stick the boards in the oven to kill the bugs, put some colored epoxy in the holes and use them for a table top. I think that would look pretty cool, especially when the cherry ages.


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## KnickKnack (Aug 20, 2008)

You can't throw them away - wood with character!
Obviously you have to get the bugs dead.
But holes that "go through to the other side" sounds interesting - enough for water to drip through? or for light to shine through? 
I have some seriously wormy oak from an ancient barrel that I've used in a few of my projects - it instantly ages the piece by 100 years.

Your nick, by the way, honours the Grandmaster? (Who, coincidentally, died here in Portugal)


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## SteviePete (May 10, 2009)

I have the same problem. Kept outside in its own pile-I think the ants go after them. In cherry I find it difficult to clean the holes. Pressure washer then microwave works good. I read the only sure way is high temperature. I'll stick with wormy chestnut, wormy butternut, spalted silver maple for my "rustic" material.

Cha Cha Cha


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## okwoodshop (Sep 15, 2009)

leave them rough ,put some satin spar urethane on them and they are about the right size to make a couple fishing rod racks out of.Maybe stain one darker


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Look at my "Arkansas Cherry Table" to see what I did with some cherry that was in much worse shape than yours. My best friend has it in his log home and he and his wife love it. I would love to have that cherry and would make a dresser top valet from it. I used an air gun and dental pick to clean all the castings out of the holes and tunnels.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

Do not burn them

Sadly they are yours and not mine.

In the right hands, its worth as much as gold by weight.


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## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

I agree with "Moron". I made my daughter a jewelry rack here and I have more projects in mind with the left over. Don't go cutting it up and throwing it in the oven until your sure you have something living in it. I spent five minutes cleaning up the board you see in my project…...................


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## alekhine (May 25, 2011)

Gshepherd, that is not a worm you ask in that picture But i am not 100 percent sure there is no beetle inside, i hope not.. 
Baking in the oven…? this i am 100 percent sure my wife never will let me do it. One question… How about dripping some alcohol into the holes? I had heard that alcohol kills the bugs, does it worth trying?

KnickNack, some of the holes that go through to the other side and openings in both sides are 5 mm in diameter (quite big).. And my nick you ask, yes! he was the grandmaster, one of the world champions and my favourite because of the character in his play. Last day of his life was in Estoril as you said.

Thanks you all for the comments you give,


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

Looks a little like carpenter bee damage. If it is beetles, the kind that make those sized holes do not persist in dry wood. It is definitely not the dreaded powderpost beetles. I suspect that the party is over and the bugs are gone.


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## grfrazee (Jul 17, 2012)

I have heard that you can stick the boards in the freezer for a few days/weeks and that'll kill the bugs, but I have no reliable reference to back that statement up, so take it for what it's worth.


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## jerkylips (May 13, 2011)

*"Clean out the holes the best you can with a dental pick, cut them in half and put them in the oven on the lowest setting you can. Mine goes down to 170°F. Let them bake for a coupe of hours. That will kill all the bugs that are living."*

sorry, but I could NOT bring myself to put something in the oven to kill worms, then use that oven to cook food. It would mess with my mind too much. "Is it just me or does this pizza taste a little…..wormy?"


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Jerkylips, I have a question: Why would it bother you?

I suppose you didn't know that federal standards for pure flour include, "No more than 30 insect parts per pound".

Have a Great wood working day!


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## jerkylips (May 13, 2011)

Dallas- never said it was logical. I have a "thing" about bugs. They really gross me out. I've already told my wife that when I kick the bucket I want to be cremated because I don't want to be in the ground with bugs crawling all over me. But that's another topic, I guess. They just gross me out & the idea of them being around my food…no thanks. As far as what you mentioned…I try not to think about it..


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## EPJartisan (Nov 4, 2009)

in my world, wormy/beetles = GOLD… if you really have to burn them… I will purchase them and pay for shipping. Silly peeps.. if your ovens don't get hot enough to kill bugs in the logs.. I wouldn't bother to eat anything that comes out of that oven, as it wouldn't be hot enough to kill any bacteria on your food…. and if it is hot enough.. then it is all in your mind. BUT hey.. I am terrified of deep water.. not of drowning but of being eaten by a human headed worm.. it makes no logical sense, but it still scares the heck out of me. I digress…

Most of my wood I keep separated and outside because my logs are too big. I watch for new dust coming out the holes and spray them with mint bug killer. BUT the other day I cut a board in half that was dried and sealed for several months and in side was a huge living beetle larva and spurted juices all over me. so my methodology is not perfect.. but like I said bugs = gold for me. lol.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

bring the lumber to my house…any living thing will be gone with the night temps we have (where is that global warming thing we keep hearing about?)

personally I'd mill it and use for a table top with an epoxy coat. my guess is when cleaned up you have a unique piece of lumber that you will be proud of.


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## joeyinsouthaustin (Sep 22, 2012)

I like the idea of using an oven or kiln to kill the bugs and eggs.

Desk and table tops are my favorite uses for pecky and wormed wood. Just did a desk with elm. It was quite old, but the supplier from wisconsin kiln dried it to kill any leftovers. I was able to leave most of the "dust?" in the holes, and used a clear epoxy to stabalize them. then clear coats.

As long as we are talking cities, I believe the state of missuri has laws regarding the movement and disposal of infested wood.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

joey I think the laws against moving wood is limited to firewood (due to the emerald ash borer).


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## joeyinsouthaustin (Sep 22, 2012)

well he did mention using them as firewood!!


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Jerkylips, I wasn't dissing you or your dislike. I have my own, but won't share them here.

There is another way to bake the wood. I built a long oven with plywood, aluminum foil and some heat lamps. I use it for powder coating small parts. It can also be used to kill the critters by removing all but one of the heat lamps and replacing them with 60 watt light bulbs.
I can attain 200°F and hold it easily. A couple hours in the hot box and it kills just about anything that lives!


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## alekhine (May 25, 2011)

I used four of the boards and built this project.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/73451

Thank you all for your input.


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