Maple Log

[DocHeb]

Spalting comes from decay of the wood - The trick is to catch it late enough that the spalting lines have developed, but early enough that the wood still has strength. Attached is a picture of a hard maple log that is spalted. The wood is actually dead as the spalting starts, so on larger areas the bark will already be falling off.

Soft Maple can also spalt, but it crosses the line from good to rotten much faster.

[DocHeb]

This interior shot of the same log is pretty soft and chewed up, but you can see the spalting lines. I actually chopped this section with a hatchet to break up all the carpenter ant tunnels. This area is too rotten to be useful, and the stronger, less decayed section of the log is shown on the next picture.

[DocHeb]

This is a piece of wood from another section of the log - this piece could take the abuse of the plane, but is probably just a little bit too rotten - still might make an accent piece for something.

[johnday]

Thanks Chris. I've got a few limbs that look similar to that. Maybe in the spring I'll cut them and see what I might have. I'd have never thought about the dust being any worse than plain old sawdust. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[egon]

Thanks - I'll wear a mask.

Egon

[GaryM]

I've turned some nice small bowls out of spalted maple. Nothing too big though. Didn't know that there might be a danger.

Thanks for the warning, now I know. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Pat]

I guess we can use Egon and Gary as canaries. If they drop over, we need to get real cautious about spalted dust.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Story of my life.

Spent most of life working in places where when an Alarm went off everyone ran the otherway; but me, I got to go run in!! [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[GaryM]

Hack Hack! [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]