Spalted shagbark hickory? We have spalt!

[shelby78]

I decided after selling 8 more oak slabs today i better get back into the woods. Those hickorys were calling to me to see what was inside them. I was only going to drop one today but they aren't very big so i decided to drop 2 of them.

The nice thing about smaller trees is they don't load the tractor soo much as the big oaks did. Instead of having to drag them thru the woods i could just carry them.

Both butt logs were rotten at the base but for how far i don't know yet. The face cut looks promissing that i may get some crazy spalted hickory? Higher up the tree the wood is more sound so i should be able to see what hickory actually looks like not rotten lol..

I should get at these tuesday and will get some pics up of what happens..


  



  



  



 

[thecfarm]

Treasure hunting,one tree at a time.  :D Good luck,just never know until it's opened up.

[shelby78]

Did some milling today as it was only -8 and i really wanted to open these logs up.  One of the logs was solid but it is smaller diameter. The 2 bigger logs both looked rotten (Sorry spalty) and i milled the biggest of the 2.

It ain't super fancy but it is something a little different. The non rotten log sure does have some nice grain to it. I'll snag a wet pic later.



  



  



  



 



 

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Shelby, this is some pretty wood. Oh the things that makes one get out in -8° weather.
But I'm glad you did.   :D  I likes looking at pretty grain! 

[thecfarm]

-8° would be 20° here in the states,or I hope I am right. That is not bad winter temps. Not bad looking wood either.

[beenthere]

Shelby
The spalting is incipient decay that precedes the wood becoming rotten. So looks like you have both. 

[hackberry jake]

There is a fine line between spalted hickory and styrofoam. It sure looks nice though as long as its solid.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

There is a fine line between spalted hickory and styrofoam.

:D :D :D You don't beat around the bush do you Jake?  :D :D :D

[drobertson]

I have had to deal with the "spalted hickory" for awhile now, a batch that had fence all through it, I lost around $750.  I bit the bullet, then this winter went to process for firewood.  One log I culled for firewood went on the burn pile just after the Chritmas cardboard burn,  the boxes burned right up, and the "spalted hickory" acted like a Cuban cigar, four days of smoldering. If I had'nt misplaced my camera, I would've got a pic, never seen anything like it before.  It just burned like a stogey. from one end to the other for four days, the wind picked up and it took 15 gallons of water to put it out. I do have what I hope to be some great lump charcoal.

[hackberry jake]

Some of the most interesting grain I have ever seen came from logs that were a couple weeks past "spalted". I wonder if you could take lumber like that and soak it in something to make it stiffer...

[Tree Feller]

I wonder if you could take lumber like that and soak it in something to make it stiffer...

Boy, could I have fun with that question...naaaah, better not.  :D

How did the spalted Hickory saw?

[shelby78]

I guess i got lucky that i don't have any styrofoam.... This stuff is solid enuff theres no way i can poke fingers thru it or even dent it with a finger nail. I haven't tried to ram a screwdriver thru it but it seems pretty solid.

I only did 2 logs today as the truck squats enuff with that load on her. I haven't dropped the 3rd tree yet but i assume it will be the same or close to the same. Some of the higher logs were solid but the one pic i took is blurry so you have to suffer thru that...

I was worried this stuff would be a bear to cut but it was easy.. No tension (I did cut only 2 inch live edge) and farly quick cutting for hardwood. The cut did speed up a bit in the splaty areas.



  



  



  



 

[drobertson]

this hickory looks as about as good as one can or should expect in my opinion.  the outside sap will be gone on the first trim cut if it were me.  Nice looking lumber!

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Tree Feller....your a baaaaaddddd man, wait, I had the same thought...what does he want to soak, what in?  :D :D

General Info about spalt:

I have been messing around with stuff for a sometime now, and Jake hit the nail on the head.  I have, maybe, a thousand board foot still it the log still grow'n you could say.  Some of the best I have ever gotten goes to something just like "styrofoam," and if you time it just right, that's when you mill it.  Now, usually, the softer it gets, the more pattern you can expect.  It will mill easy, but breaks easy too.  There are several "wood solidifies," on the market, form polyester based ones, to epoxies.  They can turn the stuff "rock hard," you have to work through what is best for you.  Poly-Gem makes some of the best epoxies, so does West-Systems.  Below is some maple that is to become an inlay piece, for a coffee table or center of a cabinet door.  Sorry the photo isn't that good.  It is about 300 mm (12") wide and about 1200 mm (48") long.

[redbeard]

Thanks Jay good info on the epoxy I have been interested In hardening up some spalted wood I have been milling. Shag bark looks like really good wood spalt or not. Thanks for posting the pics Shelby 78

[qbilder]

That hickory looks great!! I'm planning to cut a few early this summer. I'm going to build myself a hickory gun cabinet. Hopefully I get logs that look like that inside!