Before and After - spalted River Birch

[Mike Peace]

I thought this was interesting -two turnings from the same tree but one turned before it could spalt and one turned after spalting.

I rough turned this plain HF of River Birch in March 2009 from a tree cut down the previous month. I finish turned it four months later. Pretty ordinary looking wood with no spalting.

Compare that one with the one I posted a couple of weeks ago turned from the same tree. http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1318314#poststop
This piece wasn't turned until January 2010. Amazing what a few months of spalting can do!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Good looking hollow form Mike! Time sure makes a difference!

I've also found that when spalting your own wood, be sure to rotate the log every once in a while or you end up with spalted wood on the bottom side of the log and hardly anything on the top!

[John Keeton]

This spalting thing is pretty new to me, and I am quickly learning that the difference between spalting and plain rot is only a matter of time!!

Nice forms - both of them. But, the spalted one is so much nicer!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice pieces Mike. Time do make a difference.

[David E Keller]

Nice turnings... I must admit that the spalted piece is a favorite of mine. Amazing what mold can do. If it were only possible to control the spalting and accurately predict the point where it's perfect, that would be amazing. John's right... a little spalting is good and a lot of spalting is rot.

[Bill Bolen]

I think River Birch is about the quickest to spalt of any wood I know. But wait a month too long and you got nothing but heavy rot. Lovely pieces both. I'm very taken with your chosen form too...Bill..

[Baxter Smith]

I've also found that when spalting your own wood, be sure to rotate the log every once in a while or you end up with spalted wood on the bottom side of the log and hardly anything on the top!

Spalting sure makes a plain piece of wood a lot more interesting. Thanks for the suggestion about turning your wood Steve. I never paid attention to the hows and whys of wood in my small pile of unsplit maple decaying. Should it be in contact with the ground or just upside down so it can't dry out as fast underneath when wet? Termites are already at work in some of the wood that was on the ground. Wood decays much faster (if left outside) here in Delaware than it ever did in Maine where I grew up.

[Michael Jasani]

Mike I guess spalting is nature doing the dyeing work for us......only in an unimaginably beautiful way! I like both the pieces.

[Cody Colston]

Both of those are really fine turnings, but the spalting on that last one is spectacular.

Just be aware that the time cycle for River Birch going from spectacularly spalted to punky rotten is very brief. DAMHIKT :D

[Rob Cunningham]

Both are nice Mike , but the spalted one is my favorite.