[TheForge] aging wood, art

[Ron Childers]

There is a natural process known in wood turning circles as "spalting".
Minerals from the ground and mold, etc leech into the wood and discolor it
with different hues. Oak, hickory and pecan spalted wood is common around
here, but some woods don't spalt. The colors are quite striking. The trick
is to get it before rot, beetles and termites take over and destroy its
structural integrity. It can be stabilized and stained and used for handles
on old coffee mills, corn shellers, hand grinders and the like. 

I cut down a dead oak for a friend and turned a bowl for him. The wood was
still sound but was very colorful.

I have an oak that has been in contact with the ground since last Feb. I'll
cut into it and see how it looks.

Ron C


-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Tod Estes
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 10:18 AM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] aging wood, art

Just a bit more on burying wood, if it is buried shallow it will age faster,
I have not tried it yet but I would like to see what happens to a plank in a
compost heap.