The Forestry Forum

I have some dried Ash that is full of borer channels..(not EAB..down in the wood)  I like the look, but the chanbers are hardened and cleaning them out with an awl or knife could wreck the natural texture..too hard for a medium bristle brush.  Any ideas on how to get the sawdust/bug doo out of these chambers?

Todd. I run into this a lot with live edge Walnut slabs. Compressed air from a blow gun works pretty good. I have tried wire brushes they work also, you will have to sand a little after using the brush though. Your right using a scratch awl is to slow. Petrified borer dung is some hard stuff. Tim

I ended up using a dremel with a drill bit to remove alot of it..felt like a mad dentist. By gently using the sides and end of the bit i could remove the dung in the channels without damaging the wood. also found that the small bit pushed into the wood replicated worm holes nicely.

Have you tried wetting the frass?

Once it's moistened, a quick shot of air should dislodge the contents.  Use a solvent rather than water if you're worried about moisture content.

Bumping up the energy level,  try a high pressure washer or even a sand blaster.  In either case, come in from a distance watching to see  the effective range.

I recently washed some wormy chesnut barn beams  and it washed out the worm holes pretty well.  It even revealed the original lay-out lines around some mortises. ;)

Sounds like I just need a bigger hammer!  Thanks for the help guys.

ive used metal dental picks.. takes forever tho!