Results of Self Spalting Test

[Bob Bergstrom]

I posted this picture a few months past and finally got around to turning these and some other spalted rough outs. I learned that standing bowls on end in the box of debris seems to spalt the portion closer to the most moisture or the bottom of the plastic bin. I latter read that it is a good idea to add vermiculite to the mix to keep the moisture up. The next time I think I will go back to plastic bags and use the same type of mixture of leaves, spalted wood chips, dirt and Vermiculite. The bowls range from 11" to 17" across and 3" to 5" deep. One of them has the been augmented with a fine line "Sharpie" to draw in some more spalting. Care to guess?
Here are some of the results
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[Hayes Rutherford]

Bob, you have definitly enhanced the look of your bowls. I like the radius and bead detail in the last photo as well but all are very nice.

[Nate Davey]

Those came out very nice. Looks like you've cracked the code for that wood.

[John Keeton]

Whew!!! When I saw the title, Bob, I thought you had tried to spalt one of your legs or something!!!:D

Those are really nice (great form as always!) and the spalting adds a lot. My guess is the bowl in pic 2 has been touched up a bit with the Sharpie.

[Ken Hill]

Can of beer, plastic bag and block of maple....works well for me.

Thos are all very very nice!

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Nice bowls Bob. Thanks for sharing. It would be my guess that you used your trusty little sharpie on the bowl in the 4th pic.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice bowls Bob. I was going to say it was used on more than one until I went back and reread your post. You must have done a good job with it!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wow - your test was certainly worth the time and effort! Beautiful wood in each bowl!

[Michelle Rich]

very nice job, from beginning to end

[David Reed]

When I tried 'self spalting', all I got was white hair.
Lovin' the spalting action you have here and especially like the rim treatment on the final pic. Looks like #1 was augmented perhaps.
Gotta try this out for myself.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful bowls Bob. Well worth the effort.

[Bob Bergstrom]

That lawyer has one sharp eye. In #2 almost all of the black lines in the middle are drawn in. I tried to follow the color changes as much as I could. I sharpen the the point of the sharpie on a grinding wheel to a wedge shape. I was able to draw a very fine line and then twist the pen a little to increase the width. I then sanded it back a little to match the existing ones and lacquered over it.

[John Keeton]

Bob, it comes from years of trying to discern the truth in places where it is scarce!!!:D

[Mitchell Carroll]

Hi , In the bottom portion of the third photo there seems to be an area that doesn't shine. I've had that problem with a few spalted pieces, and can never resolve the issue.Its like the wood won't absorb the oil. Is there a solution,or do you just live with it ?

[Michael Menzli]

I love to experiment with spalting. Ive found the biggest thing is doing as little as possible..the more I worry the worse things get..sometimes nature has this figured out. Anyways my understanding is you need two types of fungi working together to get the spalt and that these have specific species of wood that they like..so some chemistry involved. Ive found that white shelf fungi and dead mans fingers readily available and work well.