Spalted Beech

[Scrums]

When Spalted Beech is just right it's great stuff, too far gone and it's downright dangerous ! .....a bit in between - heavily spalted, big black lines and reasonably dense white patches it's OK, but a bit 'sooty' on final sanding.

Anyone discovered a way of not transfering the sooty bits to the white bits and making the whole thing go grey and mucky looking ?

Or does no one have the slightest idea of what I'm on about.....?

Chris.

 

[CHJ]

Seal it with plenty of dilute sanding sealer or if it's a small area thin CA. before final sanding.

 

[Scrums]

Thanks Chas,

Tried that - It helped quite a bit. I think the moral of the story though is to stay away from Spalted Beech that's past it's sell by date.

Chris

Spalted Beech 12" x 1 1/4" + Stand

 

[Anonymous]

That looks well worth the aggravation :wink:

 

[CHJ]

...Tried that - It helped quite a bit. I think the moral of the story though is to stay away from Spalted Beech that's past it's sell by date.....

Perhaps so, trouble is when starting out it goes against the grain to bin something that looks so attractive. Like most things in life though you have to run the gauntlet of experience before you can establish a balance.

Great job on the Platter, well rescued, just a hint for the next one, try hand sanding with the grain (lathe stationary) to blend out the circular tooling/sanding/polishing highlights.

 

[pete honeyman]

Really nice bowl, well finished. I have a chunk of spalted beech I rescued from a wood, I think it's too soft to do anything with, but don't want to give up on it. Maybe get a couple of pen blanks out of it.

Pete

 

[Paul.J]

Very nice Chris and well worth the percy
Some of my first turning was with some really spalted Beech which most of got chucked,and what i salvaged was still really soft but came out well.

 

[Dean]

It may be to late for that piece Chris but try giving the next piece 2-3 good coats of Ronseal wood hardener, apply it when you're within 2mm of finishing and give it a few days to dry out before finishing.

It does what it says on the tin

 

[cornucopia]

It may be to late for that piece Chris but try giving the next piece 2-3 good coats of Ronseal wood hardener, apply it when you're within 2mm of finishing and give it a few days to dry out before finishing.

It does what it says on the tin

A word of warning about using wood hardeners, in my day job i use and handle allot of flammable liquids and paints, wood hardener is very flammable and also contains acetone which is not reccomended for dry sanding methods, also the vapour from these prodoucts is heavier than air so you dont tend to notice the build up of vapour inside a shed etc until its too late. there is more but i dont want to seem like a h & s do gooder.

my own opinion is avoid it and use another method like dilute pva or put it down to experince- theres no shortage of spalted beech but your lungs and safety are very precious.

 

[Dean]

A word of warning about using wood hardeners, in my day job i use and handle allot of flammable liquids and paints, wood hardener is very flammable and also contains acetone which is not reccomended for dry sanding methods, also the vapour from these prodoucts is heavier than air so you dont tend to notice the build up of vapour inside a shed etc until its too late. there is more but i dont want to seem like a h & s do gooder.

It also tells you all the above on the back of the tin, you'll find similar warnings on many other products such as cellulose sanding sealer.
What it doesn't tell you is the potential danger of the natural spores contained in spalted wood, wet or dry.

I assumed scrums would have read the tin and understood the warning before using it and also be taking the usual precautions when sanding,

What is a reccomended dry sanding method for spalted wood?

 

[cornucopia]

A word of warning about using wood hardeners, in my day job i use and handle allot of flammable liquids and paints, wood hardener is very flammable and also contains acetone which is not reccomended for dry sanding methods, also the vapour from these prodoucts is heavier than air so you dont tend to notice the build up of vapour inside a shed etc until its too late. there is more but i dont want to seem like a h & s do gooder.

It also tells you all the above on the back of the tin, you'll find similar warnings on many other products such as cellulose sanding sealer.
What it doesn't tell you is the potential danger of the natural spores contained in spalted wood, wet or dry.

I assumed scrums would have read the tin and understood the warning before using it and also be taking the usual precautions when sanding,

What is a reccomended dry sanding method for spalted wood?

as i said dean only my proffesinal opinion. and in my opinion why open yourself up to such risk for a bit of past its best wood? when theres is plenty of better quality wood avalible.
as for the natraul spores in spalted wood this is widely known and i have coverd it in several of my recent posts.but in my opinion they are nowhere as dangerous as using wood hardener.
best wishes C

 

[user 5053]

The spalted beech platter of Scrums is really fantastic - the best item I've ever seen on the forum. I think you need razor sharp tools and a polished technique so sanding is kept to a minimum to get the best out of spalted wood and it is about catching it at the right time so it hasn't gone soft. I've turned quite a bit of spalted birch recently which is very attractive.

 

[Jenx]

Chris, it isa pretty stunning platter.
I think its been worth your efforts on it, - Its a beaut.

Sorry - can't help with any relevant input on your question, but I do like your piece there.... very nice

 

[Scrums]

Thanks for the replies guys, firstly Chas - Wot lines ? ....they're features within the wood itself.... :lol:

.....and whoever said that Scrums would have read the label on the tin first.... Scrums is dopey and never reads labels or instructions till things go wrong !

Chris.

 

[dickm]

Interested in the comments about wood hardener. I used it for a spalted elder platter that I made as a wedding present for a friend of my daughter's, so it's too late to discover what damage it may have done me. But assuming you leave it for a day or so after application before doing any further work, is there likely to be any flammable or other dangerous residue left?

As regards spores, they are potentially a hazard, but so is any fine wood dust and should be trapped by standard powered respirators.