Okay, I know your first questions are most likely "What is spalted wood and why do we need to stabilize it?" So in an effort to explain I went out to the Multimedia Woodturning website and grabbed the definition below.
- Spalted Wood
- Wood that is in the initial stages of fungal attack and decay. Spalted wood is highly prized by many woodturners for its magnificent color and character. Spalted wood usually contains dark black lines (known as zone lines) that run in irregular patterns throughout the wood. As the fungal activity continues in the timber, areas of the wood are compromised as they loose some of their strength and density. Fungal activity usually ceases when the moisture content of the timber drops below 20%.
Now that we know we are working with decaying wood that has lost some of it's strength it is clear why we do not want this precious commodity to fall apart during the creative process. How do we keep that from happening? Well, that is the $64,000 question! I have personally only used CA glue (super glue), but I am posting some other ideas that I found while searching the web.
Burlsales.com recommends the following which I found repeated on several chat feeds:
- Minwax has a product called of all things "Wood Hardener". It is usually in the same section of the store as stains and varnish. Wood Hardener is solvent based so be sure to use it outside or where there is plenty of fresh air. The fumes are the biggest drawback to using this product. It also tends to darken the wood and gives light colored woods an amber color.
- Protective Coatings has a product they call "Wood Petrifier". I found it at Home Depot after checking the Protective Coatings website. Wood Petrifier is waterbased and environmentally friendly. You could use this stuff in the kitchen without getting into trouble. Very slight amber with light woods but for the most part keeps the true color of the wood.
- Both of these products were created to fix areas of rotten wood in architectural restorations. I have used both on a large variety of woods with results I was very pleased with. I like minwax for the darker and oilier woods and protective coatings for light color, soft and spalted woods. (just my opinion, both work great)"
The following link also provides numerous products that might assist in resolving the stabilizing of spalted wood. http://www.veddermountainhardwoods.com/2009/02/27/stabilizing-techniques-for-small-pieces-of-spalted-wood/
The most interesting idea I found was to freeze the spalted wood and turn frozen. If the wood is dry you would need to soak in water first. Ummm. I would really like to know if anyone has tried this.
Below are photos of a spalted maple bowl that was stabilized with CA glue.
