Chris's guide to spalting maple

[merrill77]

Ok, maybe guide is too strong a word :> This is how I did it...completely unintentionally:

1. Cut down healthy maple tree in winter
2. Saw into firewood sized pieces
3. Put on firewood rack and cover with tarp to keep the rain off
4. Do not check to see if the tarp stays on (I think this step may be important!)
5. 1 year later, wander past the firewood rack and notice the tarp is off.
6. Re-cover with tarp and secure it this time.
7. Let it bake through another NC summer.
8. In the winter, split a piece to see how it looks :>

I haven't checked them all, but both logs I split for firewood last weekend are now nicely spalted:

Oooohh am I happy that new Laguna carbide resaw blade just arrived! I can't wait to get a piece of this onto my bandsaw :gar-La;

If anyone would like some of this for turning or other small projects, I'll be happy to trade you logs for an equal amount of split and dried firewood (oak preferred, but will take anything that burns well). I'm not entirely sure how many logs I have and I don't know that we'll be able to identify them without at least splitting them in half. It seems like a waste to burn them! I'm also not sure how wet/dry they are...they burned OK in the fireplace, but not as good as my usual oak stash. Not sure if that was a wet/dry thing or a maple/oak thing.

Chris

 

[merrill77]

To add a little: The logs are not large - I think most of the logs would be in the 8-10" diameter range and 18" long.

 

[Dragon]

:rotflm:Very similar to what I did last year. Some of mine turned out alright and some got "spalted" a little too far. If you weren't so far away from me here in Lincolnton we could trade out a bunch of wood.

 

[Bas]

I'm sure a LOT of things are "discovered" this way Good story Chris.

 

[Kyle]

:rotflm:Very similar to what I did last year. Some of mine turned out alright and some got "spalted" a little too far. If you weren't so far away from me here in Lincolnton we could trade out a bunch of wood.

You ought to see the spalted pecan and maple I have.. crazy..

 

[Dragon]

You ought to see the spalted pecan and maple I have.. crazy..

Well, let's see some pics!! :banana:

 

[Trent Mason]

That sounds like a very well thought out science experiment that paid off big time! :rotflm:

That's a great surprise right there. Can't wait to see what you make with it. :icon_thum