Diseased/figured Pine Find At HD, Gloat and ?’s

[Adam Burgess]

I found these diseased/figured pine boards (3/4" x 3 ½" x 8') at my local Home Depot. I thought that for $2.77 a piece I could do something with them. Probably use some of it for box sides and book matched panel for a boxtop.

My first question is what caused this and has anyone see this before?

Second, how would I go about filling the voids in the "eyes" without filling the grain? Has clear filler worked well for any one? Any brand recommendation?

[Lance Norris]

Looks like "spalt". Its caused by decay. Usually, its in crazy, squiggly black lines all thru the wood. Go to Ebay and type in spalted maple, or any wood type, for some examples. It is sought after mostly for bowls and boxes. My local hardwood dealer has it in Maple & Ash. $6 something a bf.

[Lance Norris]

Something else... those pieces have "spalted eyes". Spalt in larger areas is soft and a planer will tear out the lighter colored areas. It shouldnt happen in your boards because the spalt areas are small, but be careful. Usually you only sand spalted woods. And one word of WARNING. Spalted wood dust can cause SEVERE allergic reactions if the dust is inhaled. USE A DUST MASK.

[Jim Becker]

VERY nice find! As much as I loath buying lumber of any kind at the 'borg, I still check the racks for things like this from time to time, especially after seeing what Todd Burch scored in figured pine a few years ago. Your material, however, is even more unique. Good buy!

Use these board for things like door panels and or special features for box making, etc. Clear paste-wood filler (after a de-waxed shellac sealing coat) will likely help you out unless there are large/deep voids. Clear resin (epoxy) will work for the deep ones.

[Adam Burgess]

Thank for the info guy’s. Specifically the allergy info Lance, I had no idea.

[Charles Jackson III]

Very nice find.

[Kurt Forbes]

Looks more like pitch pockets to me. I just recently picked up similar boards at lowes. They were pockets of pitch all over most of them still weeping.