Dealing with spalted wood

[Mike Minto]

I've made a few turnings from spalted maple and holly, but really don't know much about 'dealing with' it. Particularly, if one has a piece of wood that is borderline too rotted (ie, when turning, it kinda chips and you know the final 'turning' of the wood will really be done with sandpaper), but very nicely spalted, and somewhat wet, will pentacryl help out, or do you guys have other ways of stabilizing such wood? I have a few pieces of maple which are like that that I recently aquired, and don['t want to have to lose them.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Mike if they are small spots I will mix my epoxy cocktail as I call it. I mix 5 minute epoxy then add DNA till it has a consistancy of milk. I will paint it on and let it sit for 24 hrs. Just me. I have had pretty good luck with it. I have also mix lacquer and lacquer thinner and painted it on. Both have worked well at least for me. I have never tried pentacryl.

[jason lambert]

well I stablise pen blanks by soaking them in minwax wood hardner for a month. I had a ambrosha maple bowl I was working on last week and it was so soft and pluckey that I decided to try the wood hardner on that. Worked well just apply seveal coates and it did soak up alot almost a whole can. But it did stablise it.

[Michael Mills]

It takes longer but here is my method.
If it is wet go ahead and rough turn it and don’t worry about the tear out. Just leave it a little thicker.
I give the area (recess or tenon) a coat of CA glue to firm it up for the chuck.
To re-turn I thin shellac about 1 part shellac to 2 parts DNA and coat. When it dries I turn a little (it only goes 1/16 to 1/8 deep), recoat, turn some more, recoat….
The last coat, for the last cuts, I use undiluted shellac.
It works for me but be safe and remember the punky wood in the chuck is more apt to develop a problem.

[tom martin]

Mike,
Pentacryl would probably work . The other method listed will too. Remember to be extra careful when sanding spalted wood. Some people are sensitive to the spores and they can cause serious respiratory infections!
Good luck,
Tom

[Mike Minto]

thanks, guys!