Matthew Joe
06-12-2010, 7:07 PM
Just purchased around 300 bf of red oak for a great price, but I'm worried that it might be infested with beetles. The boards were air dried, never kiln dried, and were stacked in a guy's garage for a few years (well, "stacked" is a generous term). Many of the boards are rather filthy, and some have mold on the outside. Still, there seems to be a lot of good lumber here, including a fair amount of quartersawn.
When I was stacking the wood, I discovered one--just one--board that looks like it may be infested. I've posted some pictures of the board once planed down. Keep in mind that this board was stacked among all of the other boards for God knows how long, and they don't seem to have similar holes. For what it's worth, the board was molded on one end, producing a fair amount of spalting (also pictured).
I stacked the boards outside for the time being, away from the rest of my lumber. I don't want to bring them into the workshop until I'm sure that they're not infested. I don't see any bugs running around, but I don't know whether I should expect to see them. How can I tell if the bugs are still alive? Can I just leave this planed board alone for a few days and then look for sawdust coming out of the holes?
Thanks in advance for the advice!
When I was stacking the wood, I discovered one--just one--board that looks like it may be infested. I've posted some pictures of the board once planed down. Keep in mind that this board was stacked among all of the other boards for God knows how long, and they don't seem to have similar holes. For what it's worth, the board was molded on one end, producing a fair amount of spalting (also pictured).
I stacked the boards outside for the time being, away from the rest of my lumber. I don't want to bring them into the workshop until I'm sure that they're not infested. I don't see any bugs running around, but I don't know whether I should expect to see them. How can I tell if the bugs are still alive? Can I just leave this planed board alone for a few days and then look for sawdust coming out of the holes?
Thanks in advance for the advice!