New to turning spalted beech

[davegw]

I'm fairly new to turning (and very new to this forum) and am just about to try to turn a desk set using some really nice looking spalted beech. I keep seeing notes on different forums saying that this is really difficult to turn.

Can anyone give me an idea what to watch out for?

Thanks

Dave

 

[tigerturnings]

Hi Dave, and welcome to the forum.

With spalted beech there are a few things to watch out for. Firstly, I'd advise wearing a good respirator to avoid breating in any dust. This should be standard practice with any hardwood work where you produce fine dust, but with spalted woods where the colouration is caused by a fungus, it is sometimes said to be even more important.

Regarding the actual turning, the biggest potential problem is that the timber is soft in some areas and harder in others. You'll need to use very sharp tools to get a good result and avoid tearing the endgrain. Taking a lot of shallow cuts should work better than fewer, deeper cuts.

When I have turned spalted woods in the past, I have found it helpful to apply a coat or two of diluted spirit or cellulose sanding sealer before taking a final light cut. It helps hold the fibres together and reduces the likelihood of tearing them. I think a coat of an oil finish should have a similar effect but will take a lot longer to dry.

Hope these suggestions help and I'm sure that others will be along soon with further advice.

Cheers

Neil

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Dave

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Taffy Turner]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to the forum. As Neil has already said, be very careful you don't breath any of the dust - the fungal spores would love living in your lungs - sadly you wouldn't enjoy the experience too much.

Not much to add to what Neil has already said, other than to be careful when sanding. As parts of the wood will be much softer than others, it is really easy to over-sand these areas, so try to get the best finish that you can off the tool (easier said than done), and then go really carefully with the sanding so as not to produce hollows in the soft bits.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Regards

Gary

 

[PowerTool]

Hi Dave,and welcome

Same as everyone else said.

This was my first attempt at turning spalted beech

The dark line on the left side was a split that I had to "rectify" with superglue.

Andrew

 

[davegw]

... that's really helpfuljavascript:emoticon('')
Very Happy, first of all I'll be sure to upgrade that dust mask!

I'll let you know how I get on, and hopefully have some pictures to share (of turnings not bandages)

 

[CHJ]

Welcome to the home of 'Round Spinny Things' as some forum members would have us placed.
My first item produced was out of spalted beech also.

If you get a very soft section that soaks up the sanding sealer like blotting paper try immersing it in a dish of sealer for a few minutes to let it penetrate well into the wood, this will harden it up when dried out and prevent it marking so easily if caught by fingernails etc.

If you start chasing tears that are going deep and unable to turn out, try filling them with fine Sanding Dust and Sanding Sealer or CA glue before you get to the final cut.

Often the finished blemish blends into the general spalting marks enough to salvage the piece.

In worst case scenario if you are unable to cut it with a gouge use coarse abrasive to shape rather than give up on it.