Spalted wood

What is spalting in wood? Although primarily found in dead trees , spalting can also occur in living trees under stress. Although spalting can cause weight loss and strength loss in the woo the unique coloration and patterns of spalted wood are sought by woodworkers. Which is fine with Cate, who has worked with maple often. The characteristic blue-black lines that run through spalted wood actually represent the lines of demarcation between incompatible colonies of micro-organisms.

When the temperature and humidity are right, spalting can cause many different and beautiful patterns in rotting wood. The unusual colouration may be due to chemically induced reactions between the wood , fungi and insect deposits, often resulting in black, pink, grey and multicoloured streaked wood. For the first time, the history of spalted wood—wood coloration caused by fungi—is detailed in a comprehensive resource covering the science, the history, and the applications of spalting. This causes some areas of the wood to bleach to a champagne color while other areas retain the original color of the wood.

Certain fungi can even produce stained areas of blue, pink and other colors. The easiest way is to look for flushes of mushrooms on the wood. To stop the wood from spalting it.

Most likely part of the tree was injured and the wood was dead in a live tree. Spalt is mold in the wood. Thus, given time, it spalted. Time is the key in spalting.

I set them out in the woods in the shade to age. Did you scroll all this way to get facts about spalted wood ? The most common spalted wood material is wood. You guessed it: brown. If the decay is well advance the wood may be degraded to the extent that it is useless. Green wood with a moisture content above is perfect for fungal growth.

Once the moisture content drops below the fungi stop growing. Kiln drying will essentially kill off the fungi and stop the decay process. Colors caused by trees as a host response are not spalting. Examples of things people often THINK are spalting, but are NOT, include boxelder (Manitoba maple, Acer negundo ), the green streaks in hard maple and basswoo the purple in lilac, etc.

Blue stained pine is spalting, as is ambrosia maple, as fungi cause the coloring, although they are vectored into the wood by insects. Designed To Last, Styles For Any Budget. Crown molding corners, splicers and end caps.

Find The Perfect Electric Guitar At The Perfect Price For All Player Levels - Shop Today! Our facility produces Birdseye Maple Lumber, Curly Maple (Tiger Maple) Lumber and we stock over species of exotic wood. Fungal growth in some woods during the initial stages of decay produces regions of discoloration and intricate patterns of dark lines. The process is known as spalting. Distribution: Primarily temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere.

Average Dried Weight: 30. Rather like home cooking, every result is likely to be slightly different. First, pick your wood. If the fungi grow too long, the wood will deteriorate. The trick is to find it when it isn’t quite to the “rotten,” soft stage, to preserve the beauty of the interesting patterns created.

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