# Home Spalting



## ssgmeader (Mar 21, 2013)

I read this article a few months ago, and I'm curious if anyone on the forum has tried it before?

http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/article/spalt-your-own-lumber.aspx


----------



## healeydays (Mar 21, 2013)

I have wood in my leaf and compost piles that seems to work for light spalting, but haven't tried it long term.


----------



## DKMD (Mar 21, 2013)

The author is probably the most knowledgable person around for spalting info... As I understand it, she basically got a PhD in spalt. I've never tried her methods, but I know no reason to doubt her info.


----------



## gridlockd (Mar 21, 2013)

I have done some spalting, but not with the method shown in the article. Basically I just took my logs, (several species oak, maple, hackberry, etc.) piled them together, raised off the ground with some old 2x4s, in a shady area behind my shop, dumped a bunch of leaves and wood shavings from the lathe on and around them and soaked them down with the hose. covered the whole pile with black plastic. I checked it from time to time and re-wet it if need be. the hackberry spalts quickly, the others were a bit slower. here's a thread where I showed some of the hackberry: http://woodbarter.com/showthread.php?tid=4806


----------



## ssgmeader (Mar 21, 2013)

That came out good. I think this methode is pretty much what you did just on a smalled post-milled scale. Got any pictures of the Maple you did as thats a super common wood here. And any idea how long you had to let them sit? or was it close to what the article stated?


----------



## Kevin (Mar 21, 2013)

healeydays said:


> I have wood in my leaf and compost piles that seems to work for light spalting, but haven't tried it long term.



From 2005 through 2009 I constantly had at least one spalt pile going, and most of it was sycamore and FBE. I had good enough success with covering them with leaves and grass in shaded areas, ends unsealed and sometimes spraying beer on the logs and especially the ends that I never tried other methods. 

The PhD of Spalt - I've never tried any of her methods but I'm like Doc I bet she's forgotten more about it than I know. I haven't been intentionally spalting logs for a while and may never again, but I had great success using the method healey describes.


----------



## ironman123 (Mar 21, 2013)

Kevin was that a waste of good beer? If the spalting was nice, I guess it wasn't a waste huh//

Ray


----------



## Kevin (Mar 21, 2013)

Depends on if you like spalt more than beer. It's an easy choice for me.


----------



## NYWoodturner (Mar 21, 2013)

Kevin said:


> healeydays said:
> 
> 
> > I have wood in my leaf and compost piles that seems to work for light spalting, but haven't tried it long term.
> ...



What in the hell would motivate you to spray beer on a log pile. Was in in the "Recycling phase?" I have done that on PLENTY of occasions


----------



## ssgmeader (Mar 21, 2013)

Yeah no kidding . If you wanted to add yeast.........just add yeast not beer, unless it was some crappy Natural Light then spalted fibrous gold is definitely worth more.


----------



## LoneStar (Mar 21, 2013)

ssgmeader said:


> unless it was some crappy Natural Light



Bite your tongue.

:teethlaugh:


I know Super Ducks got my back on this one.


----------



## gridlockd (Mar 22, 2013)

ssgmeader said:


> That came out good. I think this methode is pretty much what you did just on a smalled post-milled scale. Got any pictures of the Maple you did as thats a super common wood here. And any idea how long you had to let them sit? or was it close to what the article stated?



maple spalts pretty well, I still have some spalting now. I am intending to mill some up in the next week or so. I'll post some pics when i get it done. from my experience the more dense the wood the longer it takes to spalt. hackberry is not very dense at all and showed good signs of spalting after a month, but that was during the warmer part of the year.


----------

