How do I Spalt?

[narrowboater]

I had the fortune to drive past a tree surgeon the other day in the process of cutting up a sycamore he had just felled, needless to say we loaded some into the back odfmy car. Question is

I would like to spalt some log lengths, do I just chuck on the garden somewhere, or is there more to it. I recall seeing somewhere that you could paint on some plant food or some such and wrap it in clingfilm, is this right or not? also how long does it take, and should I still seal the end grain??

Regards
Rod

 

[cornucopia]

hello Rod

don't seal the end grain

to encourage spalting you need to create a warm moist enviroment away from direct sunlight- i cover my logs with old dust sheets.

if you want you can water them with liquid plant food or cover them with sugar or throw some shavings over them.

beech takes between 12-24 months--- sycamore is a bit more tricky as it tends to go from nothing to too far gone very quickly, all you can do is keep an eye on it and keep testing bits.

 

[Bodrighy]

Reading the title I was so tempted to say 'stand in a bucket of manure for a good six months' but George has answered sensibly so I won't

Pete

 

[Gitface]

Hi

I had some promising result with some poplar by throwing it in the compost bin. Took a piece out after 3 months and it was coming along nicly.

The other two I took out after 5 months, not done anything with these yet, so they have been drying out.

Mark.........

 

[robo hippy]

I put down a tarp, then a bed of shavings, then the wood, cover with more shavings, get it wet, cover with another tarp, and let it sit for a while. Do keep it damp at least. Takes a month or 6 depending on the wood. Sycamore goes really quickly. I figure it is because it is a maple, and they all tend to have some sugar in them. Have heard of beer being used as well.

robo hippy

 

[frugal]

There are a couple of articles on the Fine Woodworking website:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Materials/MaterialsArticle.aspx?id=32485

One of the subscription only articles linked to from the bottom of the page describes in black bin bags with damp vermiculite and sprinkled with fungi spoores.

 

[Bodrighy]

The most dramatic spalting I have found was on a log I foubnd buried under several years worth of rotting leaves.



It had red, blue and green marks as well as some of the more usual spalt. Maybe worth trying in a bin bag with old mouldy beech leaves if this can be the result

Pete

 

[narrowboater]

Thanks for the help so far chaps, having looked at the articles suggested, I have another question. Should I saw the logs into rough blanks, or just leave them as log lenghts?

Cheers
Rod

 

[cornucopia]

i always leave them in lengths-but i know some people who split the log or rough the blank out first, if you've got enough logs why not try a mix and see which get the best results?

 

[narrowboater]

Cheers George, good idea, I'll give it a try

Rod