What Is Spalted Lumber

Spalting is a common woodworking term used to describe the colorations and patterning created by the growth of fungus in wood.

What is spalted lumber.

Spalted maple lumber turning wood hobby wood and instrument wood. You can say spalting refers to the process where fungi take color away from the wood adding dark or white layers. It is created when white rot fungus begins growing within a piece of wood or log. 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.

I m one of the first folks getting commercial volumes of spalted wood because i ve figured out a formula to produce it. Spalting is simply a fungal discoloration of wood and can be found on a wide range of wood species and genera. It s like the equivalent of finding truffles in the forest. Spalted wood is traditionally something that s been found by woodworkers rather than produced.

Spalting is any form of wood coloration caused by fungi. From spalted wood sara robinson spalting is a process that occurs on wood when fungi colonize the substrate and extract various nutrients. 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. It is found in wood that has begun initial stages of decay and is then subsequently dried preventing further decay.

When the fungus begins to grow withing the wood the process is referred to as spalting. Simply put spalted wood is wood that is colored with the help of fungi through a process known as spalting. So in some sense it is fungi that create tattoos on the wood surface. Spalted wood is the coloration and detailed dark lines that occur from fungal growth in wood commonly referred to as spalting.

This spalting mainly occurs on dead trees pieces of wood that were cut from their trunks and left lying around. Although spalting can cause weight loss and strength loss in the wood the unique coloration and patterns of spalted wood are sought by woodworkers. Although primarily found in dead trees spalting can also occur in living trees under stress.