Ooops, my maple spalted!

[Skip C]

I cut down a small maple last Fall and left the stump (about 6" in diameter x 30" high) and left another log about the same size in the underbrush. I pulled out the cut log last week (it has lots of mushrooms attached) and cut it in half for firewood and found that the maple had started to spalt! Last week the stump looked normal but today the stump is covered in a white mold.

So , what to do?

I was going to ask a local cabinet shop to band saw the two 14" logs into slabs and I would dry them indoors. But should I allow the logs and the stump to spalt even more? Does the spatling process stop at some point?

Should I leave the stump attached or cut it off and how long should it be left to spalt?

As the trunk is so small should I plain saw it or try to quarter saw it?

I have no experience with spalted maple but I find this very interesting.

Thanks for any ideas and advice.

Skip C

[conwaygolfer]

Maple Spalt?

Hello,
What does spalt mean? I have never heard this term before? I am curious.
Thanks,
Glenn

[Crash2510]

Hello,
What does spalt mean? I have never heard this term before? I am curious.
Thanks,
Glenn

spalting is the result of fungi decomposing the wood its highly prized in hardwoods such as maple

here is a pic

[leehljp]

Well spalted wood with lots of black lines have good value, especially in pen making.

[scmhogg]

I bought this recently. LOML just wants to frame it.



Steve

[drumpriest]

Actually guys, there is also ambrosia maple, which is what many people call spalted maple, and what happens is the ambrosia beetle eats into the wood, leaving behind black lines of it's....um....droppings.

There's also fungal spalted maple.

Steve, that's a pretty awesome piece of maple you have there, treasure it, maybe make into veneers?

[leehljp]

Steve, WOW! You could get rich on the veneer from that!

[jking]

I bought this recently. LOML just wants to frame it.



Steve

You don't need to do anything with it. I'd just set it on a shelf where it can be admired by all.

[crokett]

I should go through my firewood pile. I was splitting logs a few weeks ago and I have a fair bit of spalted stuff there. It is all stove length though.

[Alex Franke]

I bought this recently. LOML just wants to frame it.
Steve

Wow... Stunning. I wonder if it tastes as good as it looks...

[poolhound]

I should go through my firewood pile. I was splitting logs a few weeks ago and I have a fair bit of spalted stuff there. It is all stove length though.

Although you have to get lucky I have dragged a few of the bigger logs off my pile and had at them with the BS. I have ended up with a few nice small blocks that can make some small boxes. Even though you only get a small usable percentage of the log, the scraps go back on the woodpile.

[tribalwind]

to OP...that small i would just plain saw,i rarely QS anything.
i'd cut the stump and hose it off. and keep it outta the rain,with the endgrain exposed like that it'd just soak in rain and get rotted/punky.even the other log just on bare dirt isnt ideal,but see what you get! i keep stoff on wood pallets so its off the ground,with a tarp over it.i dont go too crazy.i have a prob with bugs movign into my apple and soem other piles now though ..

few weeks ago i cut up some 3-4" maple branches with really beautiful spalting in it, i made some wine goblets and things from some so far...i still have a 28"dia. trunk chunk to mill up ...bout 3'long maybe.
milling "firewood" is my prime source of wood, and one of my favorite parts of woodworking. i do some chainsaw milling,and also slice it up on my mini max 16 bandsaw(love it! its more max than mini lol)

here is a slideshow of some pieces i'm making into triptychs/diptychs and single bookmatched panels for an artist to oil paint.
everything came from firewood except the "tiger wood" (im not entirely certain thats what it is, i got it loooong time ago and forget the name)
the really yellow stuff i think is osage but maybe not?
i compared to pics on the hobbit-house wood site(that page is GREATTT for helping to ID cut down trees i find people giving away)

[Black wallnut]

I bought this recently. LOML just wants to frame it.



Steve

WOW! What are the demsions? I can see a butt-stock and fore-end in that piece that could fetch a rather large pay back. To the tune of $500 or so, however the spalting may be a problem.

[scmhogg]

Mark,

It's 2" thick and 21 X 8 1/2". Since this pic, I have run it through the drum sander and put a coat of danish oil on it. It's role in life has yet to be determined.

Steve

[JR]

A short article about spalting is available on Wood Mag's site:
http://www.woodmagazine.com/material...figure--spalt/

Also it seems there was another article in a recent ww mag, but I can't seem to find it.

JR