Spalted Wood

Spalted Wood is a unique and beautiful wood, and well worth the extra work and meticulous details that are required to make a piece of functional art out of this material. unlike your typical hardwood lumber slabs, spalted wood requires twice the time and fine detailed woodwork and preparation in stabilizing the wood. Its beautiful dark lines are a characteristic that occurs from a natural reaction in nature from fungi. After the raw wood has been milled it is smoked and then kiln-dried. This stops the reaction, and sanitizes the wood, leaving you with a plank of rare and gorgeous figured wood. It can occur in many types of wood but is more commonly seen in Maple and Birch. Spalted maple features dark black lines that squiggle through the light-toned wood grain. Spalted Birch features color tone changes in a “flame-like pattern” often referred to as flame birch. These woods take extra care to cut and work with, sealing and stabilizing between each sanding grit. The results of a finished piece of spalted wood is well worth the attention to detail that is required while working with these woods. Browse through my gallery and see for yourself.