Wormy Wood?

[Zuye Zheng]

Found some "reclaimed mahogany" that was used for stickering railroad ties for shipping from Japan (good story right?) at around $2/bf so was hard to resist. Planed some up and found some pin sized worm holes with black edges in a couple. All the wood was stamped as heat treated so is the black residue from that process or something I should be worried about? He had them stored outside.

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[Danny Hamsley]

Those are ambrosia beetle holes. The black color is from a fungus that the beetle brings in on its body. They are long gone, so you are safe. They cannot live in dry lumber. You will just have to live with the little black lined holes. Adds character in my opinion. I saw a lot of blue pine which is southern yellow pine that has been killed by bark beetles. The ambrosia beetles are secondary hosts that attack the tree as it is dying. Once lumber is sawn and the wood begins to dry, the beetles pull an Elvis and leave the building. They leave the characteristic black lined holes.

[Zuye Zheng]

Good to know, thanks!

[Jerry Wright]

Slightly OT, but reminded me of a rough hewn pine bench that i built as scout leader entertainment one year while with my son at an Adirondack scout camp. Beautiful piece with inlaid walnut fleur de lis. After a few months at home, i heard a buzzing sound emanating from it. After a few days, a large critter emerged, looking a bit bewildered. Noises stopped. It has been stable for 25 years.

[Danny Hamsley]

Jerry, that is funny! Down here in the South, we get the longhorn beetle grubs in pine that has died or been sawed down for a long time. About the size of the end of your pinkie. I can imagine one of those adult beetles emerging from the wood, a little aggravated that you dried out its home.

[Zuye Zheng]

I think I just had my Jerry moment, looked like an ambrosia beetle popped out when I was resawing one of the boards. The board was a little wet in the middle so maybe that had something to do with it.

Hopefully that was the last of them...