What Is Spalted Lumber

It s like the equivalent of finding truffles in the forest.

What is spalted lumber.

Cate caruso the founder and principal of studio c first encountered spalted wood furniture at last year s field supply in upstate new york where a smooth expertly crafted spalted maple table. Spalting is a common woodworking term used to describe the colorations and patterning created by the growth of fungus in wood. When the fungus begins to grow withing the wood the process is referred to as spalting. The unique patterns and coloration of the spalting process can add value to wood which otherwise might have a low value.

It is created when white rot fungus begins growing within a piece of wood or log. I m one of the first folks getting commercial volumes of spalted wood because i ve figured out a formula to produce it. It is found in wood that has begun initial stages of decay and is then subsequently dried preventing further decay. Simply put spalted wood is wood that is colored with the help of fungi through a process known as spalting.

You can say spalting refers to the process where fungi take color away from the wood adding dark or white layers. Spalted maple lumber turning wood hobby wood and instrument wood. This spalting mainly occurs on dead trees pieces of wood that were cut from their trunks and left lying around. Our facility produces birdseye maple lumber curly maple tiger maple lumber and we stock over 70 species of exotic wood.

Although primarily found in dead trees spalting can also occur in living trees under stress. Spalted wood is the coloration and detailed dark lines that occur from fungal growth in wood commonly referred to as spalting. So in some sense it is fungi that create tattoos on the wood surface. Spalted wood is traditionally something that s been found by woodworkers rather than produced.

Spalting is simply a fungal discoloration of wood and can be found on a wide range of wood species and genera. Wood that is spalted is so sought after by woodworkers because it has such a distinct look with conflicting dark and light colors as well as black and brown lines running through the wood. Spalted wood is any wood that has begun to decay or rot as a result of a specific range of airborne fungus.