Black mold on tree stump anvil stand!!

Shaw Blades

Shaw Blades

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May 18, 2009
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I spent a decent amount of time sourcing and sizing a stump to mount my anvil on. Now I have it cut to perfection and within a few days I'm getting black mold all over the top and bottom. I read about brushing antifreeze on it and I guess that's what I will try unless anyone has any better ideas.

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Anti-freeze ? Bleach I would think is better.
But you could let the wood thoroughly dry .If you cut it green that would take a year or more . Then grind off the surface and apply a good varnish .
 
What mete said. It doesn't even have to be full strength. A bleach/water mix will work. Maybe stripping it of it's bark and letting it dry for a year is really the best course.
 
+1 I've never heard of anti-freeze for mold, but I've sure used a lot of bleach for mold on wood.

If you de-bark that hunk, it will dry out a lot faster, and you won't have to contend with the bark falling off on it's own, in time.

You beat me to it Drivebytrucker. :)
 
I think you are thinking of polyethyleneglycol. It is used as a wood preservative especially for green wood used for turning. Not the same as ethylenglycol used for antifreeze. Like mete said, you can let it dry or you can set up your anvil and use it. The mold will not survive. Spritz it with a bleach solution to kill it off if you want. But the heat from a hot piece of steel being worked will take care if it pretty quick
 
Bleach will take care of it, as stated. Also remember that just because the mold is black, that doesn't mean that it is the "toxic black mold" that is so bad for you; there are MANY different mold species.
 
What you are seeing might be steel filings reacting to the wood.
Many woods will turn black when exposed to iron/steel.

My suggestion would be to remove the bark and seal both ends to minimize cracking while it is drying.

If you use bleach, mix it 50/50 with water and apply it with a spray bottle.
Then use a scrub brush to remove the surface mildew.
After that rinse it off.
Otherwise the bleach degrades the wood making it softer.
 
It was on the top and the bottom. There was also a wet spot on my garage floor where it was sitting. I rolled it outside so it would get full sun for a couple of days. Thanks for your advice Mark. I would have overlooked the part about rinsing it off.
 
I would advise against the direct sun.
On a hot day in direct sunlight you will be able to watch and hear the cracks form at the ends.

Best thing to do after you clean it up is lay it on side on top of a couple 2x4s in your garage.
This allows a little airflow around the wood so the surface moisture can evaporate.
Keeping it out of direct sunlight and letting it dry slowly gives you a better chance of the wood staying intact.
 
I lost my stump to ants! I need to find another before I get my anvil or make something.

I agree with Mark on airflow, even bleach will not always eradicate mold. It is best to put the wood in an environment where mold won't do well.
 
Something I just thought of, make a solution of water and borax. It will stop mold and repel ants too. Plus the water will evaporate but the borax will stay. Plus if you are forge welding the powder residue from the borax will replenish the surface of the stump.
 
I work in microbiology and i can vouch that bleach is the only cheap and readily available household chemical that will kill pretty much everything (non diluted, household grade). I'm not sure what effect it will have on the wood though, taking that risk is up to you, maybe try it on a spot first... I'm honestly not sure about the antifreeze, sounds more like a wives tale -- spores can be surprisingly resistant.

That being said, I wouldn't worry too much, the "black mold" is merely superficial at this point and shouldn't erode away the innards of your stump anytime soon. You could probably just scrub it off with some mild detergent and put the log in a dry environment that inhibits mold growth. De-barking makes sense as it will speed drying.
 
I have done around 20 or so restoration jobs over the years where removing black mold was part of the problem, I use full strength bleach in a garden sprayer and spray a good soaking layer on the wood (studs and sheathing), and so far, I have not had a call back.....knock on wood ;0)
 
Wow. I mix mine with about 15% bleach and have great results.

I think bleach is pretty caustic stuff with most things and I'm pretty sure wood is among them.

I believe it was a pin hole leak in a bottle of bleach that pretty much ate a hole out of solid pine shelving.
 
Bleech will also do a good job of rusting steel !
Mark's comment is about tannic acid in wood which combines with iron to produce the stain.
 
I'm going to say after the bleach evaporates the chemical reaction stops, a leaky bottle can stay wet for months or longer ;0)
 
yep... mix borax and antifreeze together... kills fungus dead dead dead... paint it on

its worked for me on rotting floor boards in my shed... fungus died.. boards turned abit gray but still there 10years later...with no mold

its like a silver bullet for fungus
 
Put it outside and spray it with some bleach and let it thoroughly dry out. Don't pour engine coolant (antifreeze) on it, it will leave a dirty residue on the wood like it does when it gets on one's hands.

Another possibility is to use deck cleaner, the stuff used to clean wooden decks and patios.
 
I appreciate everyone's input. Luckily I have another stump from the same tree I was going to use for a buffer table. I'm going to experiment on that one to see which solution works best. Again, thank you everyone. This is all great advice.
 
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