Spalted Chocolate...err, I Mean

[James Combs]

...spalted Walnut.
Turned this Walnut bowl this week. Kind of looks like a chocolate mess:rolleyes: given all the spalting. Has anyone ever seen Walnut spalt? I have never seen anything like it in Walnut before. I have one more piece, the other half of the log. Planning on more of a tray for that piece.

2.5 x 6", multiple coats of brush-on poly and WOP, no buffing to date.

I must apologize for blue tints, I forgot to turn off my shop lights while photographing the bowl.
259179 259180 259181
259182 259183 259184
259185

C&C appreciated.

[David C. Roseman]

Beautiful, James! Thanks for posting the pics. I've heard of it, but never seen it up close. We have a lot of standing Black Walnut around our place, and about twenty 15" half rounds in Anchorseal waiting to be roughed out. Maybe I'll find some spalting in there. :)

David

[Brian Kent]

That is awesome. Sort of like chocolate and peanut butter. I like flared rims and other features tha give more surface area when the grain is so interesting.

[Reed Gray]

The sap wood in walnut will spalt, but the heart wood won't. I don't think any bugs will touch the heart wood either.

robo hippy

[Roger Chandler]

I have turned several pieces of spalted walnut........not uncommon from what I have seen from our two clubs.

[Dennis Nagle]

That really does look like chocolate. very rich looking.

[David Reed]

Lovely wood and form. I like the peanut butter and chocolate analogy.

[Chip Sutherland]

Love the wood and how your form kept it interesting. As far as bugs that eat walnut, I found some ants in a walnut tree. But them's were Texas ants...representing a very special breed of big black carpenter-like ants. Were they eating the tree or just shacking up?...I don't really know. I was just glad they weren't wasps.

Spin up the rest....while I go get me a Hershey's bar or something. You guys made me hungry.

[jwjerry w kowalski]

Never seen spalted walnut before, you have one of kind turning there.

[James Combs]

Beautiful, James! Thanks for posting the pics. I've heard of it, but never seen it up close. We have a lot of standing Black Walnut around our place, and about twenty 15" half rounds in Anchorseal waiting to be roughed out. Maybe I'll find some spalting in there. :)
David
Thanks David, like I mentioned it is the first that I have seen as well. I am not even sure where I got it. I have several other pieces of walnut but none are like this and its other half. It was spalted enough that it was actually quite spunky in spots, enough so that I ran it through the "Cactus Juice" (http://www.turntex.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=121) stabilization process. Here is luck to you in finding some in your lot of blanks.


That is awesome. Sort of like chocolate and peanut butter. I like flared rims and other features tha give more surface area when the grain is so interesting.
Thanks Brian, wish I had thought of the "peanut butter" analogy;), fits to a "t".


The sap wood in walnut will spalt, but the heart wood won't. I don't think any bugs will touch the heart wood either.
robo hippy
Thanks Reed, I agree with you for most critters but the large black ants are an exception. If you recall my "Ant Pool" (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?183239-No-51-The-Ant-Pool&highlight=) series of cast vases, the walnut in them was all shaped by the large black carpenter ants.:)


I have turned several pieces of spalted walnut........not uncommon from what I have seen from our two clubs.
Hi Roger, could be the area of the country it's found in and local humidity and weather conditions.


That really does look like chocolate. very rich looking.
Thanks for commenting Dennis. A chocolate mess was my first thought even before I was done turning.:)


Lovely wood and form. I like the peanut butter and chocolate analogy.
Thanks David, ditto on the analogy.


Love the wood and how your form kept it interesting. As far as bugs that eat walnut, I found some ants in a walnut tree. But them's were Texas ants...representing a very special breed of big black carpenter-like ants. Were they eating the tree or just shacking up?...I don't really know. I was just glad they weren't wasps.
Spin up the rest....while I go get me a Hershey's bar or something. You guys made me hungry.
Thanks for the comments and info Chip, check out the link above in my comments to robo hippy(Reed). That wood carpentry action was done entirely by large black carpenter ants here in Kentucky. I had run a lot of them out of the walnut stump the wood is from with my chain saw and then when I was cutting up the chunks into blanks back at the shop I had to evict some more, again the chain saw was the tool of choice.:cool:


Never seen spalted walnut before, you have one of kind turning there.
Thanks Jerry.

[Donny Lawson]

Beautiful piece.