The magic in spalted wood. Read more: http://grasshopperww.com/2017/magic-in-spalted-wood/ #greenwood #woodturning #woodworking #madeinpdx #grasshopperww
The magic in spalted wood.
Roughing out a green wood spalted maple bowl.
Roughing out a green wood spalted maple bowl. More to come. Trying to reduce the woodpile! #woodbowl #woodturning #greenwood #spaltedmaple
The Magic in Spalted Wood
A while ago, we encountered a piece of spalted maple. It was beautiful. It had a bunch of squiggly black lines, some of which enclosed blocks of color. It was really pretty. Never having really encountered it before we were in awe. A new kind of wood? Was spalted maple like birds eye maple, or quilted maple, fiddle back maple — what was it?!? We had to find out more.
Where quilting, birds eye, and fiddle back, are attributes of wood grain and how the tree grew, spalting (spoiling), is actually wood rot. It’s a fungal infection, the early stages of decay. It’s what comes before you have a brittle or pulpy useless mush. It’s what happens when fungi start to break down a once majestic tree to re-integrate it into the earth. Whoa?!?
Beginnings of a spalted maple bowl
Beginnings of a spalted maple bowl. #greenwood #spaltedmaple #woodworking #woodturning #woodbowl
Turning handles that will become cheese knives.
Turning handles that will become cheese knives. Soooo fun. Available soon in walnut, mahogany, and maple. #cheeselover #grasshoppww #workinprogress #madeinpdx #foragepdx #mississippiave