Comments for Northern Spalting

Comment on spalting presentation in Sweden by Dr_Spalting

Dr_Spalting — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:54:39 +0000

Sorry for the delay in reply – the new site is still being migrated and occasionally goes down.

Spalting is actually sold a number of places in the States, so I don’t know why its so under-marketed here in Canada. I know Haliburton Research Forest will be carrying it soon, as I’m working with them on getting reverse kilns operational for mass spalting.

In answer to your question – contrary to popular belief, kiln drying won’t kill fungal spores on wood. The fungus will die when the wood has been dried for several weeks, with our without a kiln, but there is little that will kill the spores short of a pressure cooker. Its only the surface fungi (which are not responsible for spalting) which may potentially be a problem, and you can kill off most of them by spraying the surface of your wood several times with 91% isopropyl alcohol (no lower concentrations, and readily available at Wal-Mart). You can also spray a 10% bleach mixture on the surface, then wipe off. Those two are what we use in the lab to keep things sterile, and they do pretty well.

Can’t wait to see photos of what you do with your spalted wood!

Dr_Spalting

Comment on spalting presentation in Sweden by nancy cooper

nancy cooper — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:26:10 +0000

Thanks for your enthusiasm etc. re. spalted wood. I am CRAZY about spalted wood – I have a whack of maple that I got a sawer friend to saw for me, and I plan to use it as wall covering in my kitchen. It was from a dead tree Quebec Hydro cut down on my land. I wish I had asked for it to be sawn thinner – one piece is 2 inches thick! But spalted amazing. hues of orange, black ink lines, curly stuff – it is wild. Probably nobody would sell wood this degraded. But I love it.
I will be in Toronto next Mon-Tues, but alas, am heading to Calgary to look after my nephew so can’t attend the spalting workshop. I didn’t know there was much interest in spalting – you rarely see it sold anywhere.

Nancy

Question: I have been airdrying and stickering my wood for a year or more — is there any health concern about not putting it in kiln?

Comment on Its a new website! by James

James — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 16:03:10 +0000

Thanks for the advice. I am hoping to sneak back out into the woods again tomorrow before work.

Comment on Its a new website! by Dr_Spalting

Dr_Spalting — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:19:26 +0000

Thanks for stopping by to see the partial site. I’m hoping I can get it all functioning soon. You’re best bet for the two fungi you listed would be with a bunch of dead or dying sugar maple, especially for the dead man’s finger. Good luck!

Comment on Its a new website! by James

James — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 21:20:59 +0000

I am glad to see the updated site. I went looking for turkey tail and deadman finger today without luck. Lots of false turkey tail, but no pores on the bottom.