Finding and stabilizing spalted woods

[Storm3dknives]

Hi,

I recently started stabilizing my own woods for handles and really fell in love with spalted woods. During my holidays I found these spalted birch pieces:

Before stabilizing it, it has to be dried thorougly. But I didn't like the idea of waiting for 2 years .

After looking around on forums and youtube, I found quite a good solution, drying it in the microwave!

First cutting it up in rough blocks:

Using a moisture meter, I found the moisture content around 25%. It needs to be lowered as close to 0 as possible, at least below 6%.

I put the blocks in the microwave for 40seconds at 450watts.

letting the blocks cool down outside the microwave for around 15 minutes.

It takes quite a bit of work, but after 25 to 30 cycles, its already down to 10%

The next day I repeated the process, and I finally got it below 5%, as the meter doesnt read below that.

After stabilizing it, the blocks came out really solid and with beautiful patterns:

One of my first knives with a home-stabilized piece of spalted birch:

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

Cheers Mark

 

[annr]

very interesting an pretty. Would leaving the wood in direct sunlight help? (or hurt?) I bet it would be much slower...

(The manufacturer of a product I use ages his wood 50+ years outdoors in the snow. I believe he thinks that if it can withstand the freeze/thaw cycle for 50+ years it is stable enough to turn and drill.)

How do you plan to care for the wood now? Is it treated?

 

[Storm3dknives]

very interesting an pretty. Would leaving the wood in direct sunlight help? (or hurt?) I bet it would be much slower...

(The manufacturer of a product I use ages his wood 50+ years outdoors in the snow. I believe he thinks that if it can withstand the freeze/thaw cycle for 50+ years it is stable enough to turn and drill.)

How do you plan to care for the wood now? Is it treated?

Thank you! Drying in sunlight will help, as long as it doesn't get too hot, else it will crack. The microwave bursts somehow dry it quickly with less chance of cracking in comparison to drying in the oven.

I use a stabilising fluid, called "Stabicure" it gets really hard and smells nice as well. You can polish the wood very good, so no complaints so far. I used my blocks for 2 knives so far.

The fun part is scavenging for new woods, and trying to find the gold

Mark

 

[l1ranger]

very nice - i like spalted wood too.

haven't worked with it in knives, but a few pics from some fishing rods I did several years back.

 

[Storm3dknives]

very nice - i like spalted wood too.

haven't worked with it in knives, but a few pics from some fishing rods I did several years back.

Ah thats cool! Did you stabilise it yourself?

 

[l1ranger]

i did not - had a friend do it, that had done it before.
I only messed with a few back then and haven touched any since. just got busy with other stuff.

edit_ that was from a yellow poplar tree that was cut for campfire wood - when i noticed the spalting, i figured might as well try a few

 

[kossetx]

Nice mark! I sometimes use a micro to dry too but prefer time dry or the "put it in my truck in the August Texas sun" drying rout more. Spaulted wood tends to not crack like unspaulted wood in the micro. When I do use the micro its in very short bursts with cool down in between. I too stabilize myself.

Pete