# Big Surprise this Morning



## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 26, 2019)

Last year I discovered a roof leak in a storage barn here at the house. I had a roofing company replace the roof as quickly as I could. Today I had to dig out some American Chestnut for an order and spent two hours unstacking lumber to get to it. BIG surprise awaited me. 

I had forgotten that in the area under the roof leak were 5/4 boards of hard birdseye maple. The rain had soaked it over a period of time and it look like it had rotted. Not so. It had spalted. Now I have some great spalted hard birdseye sugar maple with some quilting thrown in. Amazing and it's not yet punky, at least not the piece I planed (below). I had no idea you could get spalted maple by letting rain leak on it. For some reason, I thought it needed to be in log form to develop the nice spalted figures.

Reactions: Like 4 | EyeCandy! 18 | Way Cool 3


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Jan 26, 2019)

Larry, are all those the same piece? If so, save it. I'll take it when i come up.


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 26, 2019)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> Larry, are all those the same piece? If so, save it. I'll take it when i come up.


Yes, different sides and parts of the same small board. I will surface the others before you come to give you a good selection. The one shown is just a small section of a board. I'll hold it until you see it. I'm going to make some items for my Etsy store out of it.

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 1


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## TimR (Jan 26, 2019)

Nice!


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## DKMD (Jan 26, 2019)

Very cool! Amazing what a little fungus can do!

Reactions: Agree 5


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## sprucegum (Jan 26, 2019)

Dang talk about making lemon aid out of lemons.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 3


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 26, 2019)

This is what the board looked like before I planed it. You can see why I was concerned. I have no idea why that green is there. It may have been there when I bought it.

Reactions: Like 2 | Informative 1


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## CWS (Jan 26, 2019)

Beautiful stuff!!!!!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Sprung (Jan 26, 2019)

Oh, man, I think I need some of that in my life...

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Nature Man (Jan 26, 2019)

Congrats! Like mining for gold! Chuck

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Lou Currier (Jan 27, 2019)

Sweet


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## CWS (Jan 27, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> Yes, different sides and parts of the same small board. I will surface the others before you come to give you a good selection. The one shown is just a small section of a board. I'll hold it until you see it. I'm going to make some items for my Etsy store out of it.


Larry, I would like to schedule a visit the week before @Eric Rorabaugh is scheduled to arrive.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 27, 2019)

CWS said:


> Larry, I would like to schedule a visit the week before @Eric Rorabaugh is scheduled to arrive.


Might be a good idea, Curt. I hear Eric has booked an armored car to bring all the cash he will use up here.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Casey Botts (Jan 27, 2019)

I’ll take a little if you have some to spare.


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 27, 2019)

Casey Botts said:


> I’ll take a little if you have some to spare.


Hi Casey, 

I will have some, just not sure how much. After Eric's visit, I will list some in the wood for sale forum and tag you. If anyone else wants to be tagged when I list it, let me know.


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Jan 27, 2019)

Come on guys, give me a break. I won't take it all. Y'all can ride with me.

Reactions: Like 1


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## CWS (Jan 27, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> Might be a good idea, Curt. I hear Eric has booked an armored car to bring all the cash he will use up here.[/QUOTE
> I agree he needs a truck to haul around his cash. Good luck on getting him to part with it.


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## gman2431 (Jan 27, 2019)

I happened into some not long ago. Got some decent black line stuff then it all cleared up. Wish there woulda been more!

Reactions: EyeCandy! 2


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 27, 2019)

gman2431 said:


> I happened into some not long ago. Got some decent black line stuff then it all cleared up. Wish there woulda been more!
> 
> View attachment 159692
> 
> ...


Soak it in water and throw it back into a tightly packed pile for a couple of years. That's the way mine was formed, but totally by accident. 
I surfaced the piece in post #7 above and here is what I found.

Reactions: Like 3


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## gman2431 (Jan 27, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> Soak it in water and throw it back into a tightly packed pile for a couple of years. That's the way mine was formed, but totally by accident.
> I surfaced the piece in post #7 above and here is what I found.
> 
> View attachment 159701



I'm to inpatient for that... lol 

I just bndsawed em and threw a little sealer on. This summer they will be ready for peppermills


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 28, 2019)

@gman2431 
Cody, for a peppermill or any turning with spalted wood, do you have to stabilize it before turning? Spalting does weaken the wood structure so my guess is "yes." 
I've never worked with spalted wood so let me also ask, if I wanted to make bases for necklace or bracelet stands using this spalted wood, what kind of finish should I use? 
I want to use as clear a finish as possible. Does spalted fade out eventually?


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## gman2431 (Jan 28, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> @gman2431
> Cody, for a peppermill or any turning with spalted wood, do you have to stabilize it before turning? Spalting does weaken the wood structure so my guess is "yes."
> I've never worked with spalted wood so let me also ask, if I wanted to make bases for necklace or bracelet stands using this spalted wood, what kind of finish should I use?
> I want to use as clear a finish as possible. Does spalted fade out eventually?



Depends. The piece I showed is plenty stable enough to turn. I have other game call stuff off same tree tho that will need stabilized. 

When it's just xylaria creating the black line spalting it doesnt seem to do much damage to the heartwood but sap gets soft. When I spalted some of my own stuff with the spores I was surprised how solid the wood kept but that was pretty controlled also. Xylaria just feeds off the sugars in the wood. 

I use lacquer 99 percent of the time if I don't want yellowing. I personally dont remember black line fading but some of the other fungus' that create the colorful spalt will fade to an extent from UV but a good lacquer with inhibitors will slow that waaayyy down

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Informative 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 5, 2019)

Pulled some other boards from the spalted pile in the small barn today and found a 10' plank of curly maple. This spalting is not quite as interesting as on the sugar maple but still nice. So far, none of the boards are rotted but I still have many more to pull. Found a gorgeous board of curly quarter-sawn cherry that was just outside the spalting zone.

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 5


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## NeilYeag (Feb 5, 2019)

Wow, that piece in the first pic 4.4 x 0.85 is really interesting!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 5, 2019)

NeilYeag said:


> Wow, that piece in the first pic 4.4 x 0.85 is really interesting!


I agree. I was very surprised when I cleaned it up. I'm going to plane the rest of it tomorrow and hope it's like this. The second pic is the back side of the same board.


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 5, 2019)

will post more photos tomorrow


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## NeilYeag (Feb 5, 2019)

If you decide to chop some of that up, I am in for some.


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 5, 2019)

NeilYeag said:


> If you decide to chop some of that up, I am in for some.


knife scales? Let me post some for sale tomorrow.


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 5, 2019)

NeilYeag said:


> If you decide to chop some of that up, I am in for some.


Neil, 
Mark up the photo and show me what section you like. I'll cut the rest of it into pen blanks.


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## B Rogers (Feb 5, 2019)

I'd be game for a couple pot call/gamecall blanks if you have any 4/4 or 6/4 spalted curly maple like above. It looks great.


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 5, 2019)

B Rogers said:


> I'd be game for a couple pot call/gamecall blanks if you have any 4/4 or 6/4 spalted curly maple like above. It looks great.


I'll be on the lookout. The boards I pulled today are all 4/4. I think I saw some 8/4 in the stack so there is hope.

Reactions: Like 1


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## NeilYeag (Feb 5, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> I agree. I was very surprised when I cleaned it up. I'm going to plane the rest of it tomorrow and hope it's like this. The second pic is the back side of the same board.





FranklinWorkshops said:


> Neil,
> Mark up the photo and show me what section you like. I'll cut the rest of it into pen blanks.



Like this section, but no worries, I trust your judgment. Knife scale sizes.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Sprung (Feb 5, 2019)

Larry, what do you think your board foot price would be on this material? I've been wanting to get my hands on some curly/figured spalted maple for a while for a potential project. Might have to see if the budget would allow me to snag a LFRGB of this stuff.


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 5, 2019)

Sprung said:


> Larry, what do you think your board foot price would be on this material? I've been wanting to get my hands on some curly/figured spalted maple for a while for a potential project. Might have to see if the budget would allow me to snag a LFRGB of this stuff.


Matt, I'm cheap. Let me clean it up tomorrow and post a LFRGB full with photos of each board. Then you decide if you like them. I'll give you a great price so no worries.

Reactions: Like 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 5, 2019)

NeilYeag said:


> Like this section, but no worries, I trust your judgment. Knife scale sizes.
> 
> View attachment 160304


After I clean up the other sections tomorrow, let me post photos for you. How many sets would you like? 5 x 1.5 x 3/8ths?


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## Sprung (Feb 5, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> Matt, I'm cheap. Let me clean it up tomorrow and post a LFRGB full with photos of each board. Then you decide if you like them. I'll give you a great price so no worries.



If it makes you feel any better, I'm cheap too, lol!


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 6, 2019)

I surfaced the remaining part of that spalted curly maple board and it is shown below next to the piece I posted yesterday. The board on the extreme right shows that the spalting went only so far. I plan to pull more boards that are likely to have spalting over the next few days . We have rain coming today and tomorrow so it will likely be Friday before I can get to them. I will cut some knife scales out of these as requested by @NeilYeag as soon as I hear back on how many sets he wants.

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 8


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 6, 2019)

Just planed another piece of what I think is maple. This is getting interesting. This piece is 17 x 9 x 1.75 so it would make a couple of nice shallow bowls. As soon as I get the rest of it planed, I post some offers to sell. I have lots more for @Eric Rorabaugh when he comes up.

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 1


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## NeilYeag (Feb 6, 2019)

Larry, I will take 6 to 8 sets depending on what you can get.

Neil


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 6, 2019)

NeilYeag said:


> Larry, I will take 6 to 8 sets depending on what you can get.
> 
> Neil



Great, I'll cut them and post photos here for you to approve tomorrow afternoon.


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## Pharmacyguy-Jim (Feb 6, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> I surfaced the remaining part of that spalted curly maple board and it is shown below next to the piece I posted yesterday. The board on the extreme right shows that the spalting went only so far. I plan to pull more boards that are likely to have spalting over the next few days . We have rain coming today and tomorrow so it will likely be Friday before I can get to them. I will cut some knife scales out of these as requested by @NeilYeag as soon as I hear back on how many sets he wants.
> 
> View attachment 160317
> 
> View attachment 160318


Spalted or not that’s good looking wood!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 6, 2019)

Pharmacyguy-Jim said:


> Spalted or not that’s good looking wood!


 I am going to have plenty of pen blanks left after processing this for Neil's knife scales. I'll put an offer in the "Wood for Sale" forum. Should make amazing pens.


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## Sprung (Feb 6, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> I am going to have plenty of pen blanks left after processing this for Neil's knife scales. I'll put an offer in the "Wood for Sale" forum. Should make amazing pens.



Hey, make sure there's some boards left of that curly stuff first!


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 7, 2019)

I think there is plenty of spalted curly left, but just not from that board. I must fill the order for Neil first and will use the trimmings from his order for pen blanks. But I may have to take a week away to make bonsai stands. I got an order for 25 this morning from a bonsai club in New Mexico.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Sprung (Feb 7, 2019)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> I think there is plenty of spalted curly left, but just not from that board. I must fill the order for Neil first and will use the trimmings from his order for pen blanks. But I may have to take a week away to make bonsai stands. I got an order for 25 this morning from a bonsai club in New Mexico.



Yup, Neil first! (And he'll put them to good use!)

Just didn't want you to go cutting all of it up into pen blanks!


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 7, 2019)

Sprung said:


> Yup, Neil first! (And he'll put them to good use!)
> 
> Just didn't want you to go cutting all of it up into pen blanks!



No danger of that happening. I normally buy the entire log when I see something that curly so stay tuned. The question is where was it stored when the water leaked? I also have a pile of ambrosia maple in this small barn and am hoping some of it spalted.

Reactions: Like 2


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## FranklinWorkshops (Feb 7, 2019)

@NeilYeag

I cut the knife scales. Here is a photo. Had enough to make 7 sets plus a left over piece that is free in case you need it. Total including shipping to your address in CA is $35.00 They will all fit in a padded flat rate envelop. Deal? 

Also, they are 0.5" thick by 1.65 wide by 5.5" long which is a little oversize from the standard.

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 1


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Apr 19, 2020)

@FranklinWorkshops 
Larry, do you have any more of this wood?


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## Sprung (Apr 19, 2020)

Forgot about this thread - and that I was waiting in line for maybe getting some. Good thing I forgot all about it and wasn't waiting! 

Would have really loved to have gotten some of this stuff. Though going to be a long while before I'm buying wood again - this putting in a sub-panel and wiring the shop up is getting expensive!

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Apr 19, 2020)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> @FranklinWorkshops
> Larry, do you have any more of this wood?


Eric, I think I do. Let me move some lumber around tomorrow and find it. Plus, I think there are some spalted boards in the shed behind my house that I've not looked at in years. Will get back to you. Do you want knife scales, pot calls, strikers, game calls or what?


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Apr 19, 2020)

Boards 1x at least 4" wide game board length is fine. Plus some tiger and quilted maple if you have it.


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## FranklinWorkshops (Apr 19, 2020)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> Boards 1x at least 4" wide game board length is fine. Plus some tiger and quilted maple if you have it.


Okay, let me go searching and I'll get back to you. Tomorrow is going to be fine weather, or so they say, so I can easily unload the shed.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Apr 19, 2020)

No rush. Whenever


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