Oregon Wood Innovation Center
Connecting people, ideas , resour ces Connecting people, ideas, resources
Urban Legends’ Related to Wood: Part 3 - Spalting In the last 2 editions of our 9) Spalted wood isn’t mar- 6) Not all woods can spalt. newsletter, we tackled ketable. All wood eventually decays on some common misconcep- Spalted wood has been sought the forest floor. Decay fungi tions or ‘urban legends’ after for woodcraft and art th make up some of the spalting related to wood. With the since at least the 15 century. fungi. Therefore, all wood can addition of Dr. Seri Robin- There are literally hundreds of spalt. Some just take longer COMING OWIC son, an expert on spalting examples of spalting used in than others. EVENTS: (and if you don’t know furniture, paneling, and mar- quetry from all over Europe, what that is–the picture to 5) I shouldn’t eat out of August19: 11th Wood and most notably Italy. Today, Adhesion Short Course, the left & discussion below spalted wood bowls or use spalted wood is still highly Corvallis, OR will tell you all you wanted spalted wood cutting boards. prized among woodworkers to know!) to our faculty, All wood has fungus on it, and turners, and sound we couldn’t resist the urge whether or not you can see it. spalted wood can sell for two to tackle a few misconcep- Fungal spores are in the air all to five times the price of un- INSIDE THIS tions related to spalting. So the time. You’re breathing them spalted wood when marketed ISSUE: here they are–the top 10 in RIGHT NOW. You get plenty to the correct audience (and ‘Urban Legends’ 2 spalting myths–busted: of fungi in your system from Related to Wood: sometimes much more!). your day-to-day interactions with Part 3 - Spalting 10) Spalted wood isn’t safe cont. life. A little fungus on your plate to use for load bearing 8) Boxelder/Manitoba Maple isn’t going to hurt you. Besides, OSU Demonstra- 3 structures. wood is spalting. tion Solar Kiln if there’s a finish on the wood Spalting comes in three Not all color on wood is from Comes Home your food isn’t in contact with forms–white rot, zone lines, fungi. Many trees make pig- New Wood Machin- the wood anyway. Also, refer to 3 and pigmentation. Of those ments as a sort of ‘host- ing Course #1 for more information on this three types, only one, the response’ reaction to invasion Introducing Seri 4 by fungi/insects, or as a gen- question. Robinson white rot, causes substantial eral response to wounding. structural damage to the 4) Researchers who work The common pink/red stain of wood. Zone lines are made with fungi for spalting are ac- Acer negundo/boxelder, is from melanin, which tends to tually mad scientists out to produced by the tree in re- make the wood MORE dense force-mutate the fungi and sponse to wounding, not by when piled in a particular destroy the ecosystem with fungi. area. Pigment-producing fun- their ‘super fungi’. gi are only capable of eating 7) Bugs/bacteria cause So this really happened. There is WHAT’S NEW?: the free sugars in wood, not spalting. a whole thread on the internet degrading the structure. So if Read the new OWIC Nope. Spalting is caused by in some woodworking forum you want to build a ladder or Executive Innovation fungi. It is true that some in- about my supposed descent into Brief chair from spalted wood, just sects can help vector in fungi evil and mad scientist-ness. I choose pigmented wood in- by bringing in spores when promise you I am neither evil stead of white rotted wood. nor mad. You’re welcome to they colonize trees, but it’s not the insects doing the spalting, come visit the lab and see for it’s the fungi. yourself. We don’t Continued on pg. 2 SPRING 2013 PAGE 2
Continued from pg. 1 force fungi to do anything, and we does it take someone using a little 1) Spalting is dangerous to my health. don’t mutate them or mess with science? About three months. I think I could fill a textbook with the their genetic sequences. Our highly number of silly stories I get about the scientific steps for spalting in the lab I know, I know…“But Prof. Robin- supposed health hazards of spalting. I’ve are as follows: son, doesn’t adding nutrients that written numerous articles about the A) See that it is not raining fungi like actually make them grow myth of health hazards and spalting, the outside (We work in a lab, faster? Aren’t we being nice by most recent of which is in American we don’t like getting wet). providing them more food?” Woodturner (December 2010, pages B) Go out to forest with brown 22-28). So I won’t get into all the nitty My answer to you, my dear spalting paper bags and hatchets. little details here. If you really want a friend, is no. You are not helping. C) Find fruiting bodies in the long, specific discussion of all the ins and You are actually retarding the whole local forests. outs of spalting dangers, read the Ameri- process. Here is why. D) Collect fruiting bodies in the can Woodturner article. To summarize local forests. Close your eyes. Imagine you (for those of you who can’t be bothered E) Bring back fruiting bodies to are wandering, alone, in a de- finding the article)–spalted wood is no lab and make pure cultures. sert. You haven’t eaten in days. more dangerous to you than normal F) Cut local wood into tiny little You are weak with hunger. wood. Fungi that spalt wood grow inside cubes. Suddenly, before you, are two wood, tend to be basidiomycetes (many G) Put wood cubes and fungus glorious things. One is a of which are used in medicine in Asian in jar together with vermicu- McDonalds, which is giving countries–see Trametes versicolor), and lite. away free hamburgers right in are adapted for wood substrates. If you H) Wait eight weeks. front of you. You don’t even spalt your own wood you lessen any I) See what happens. have to go in the store. The potential hazards even further, because other is a labyrinth from which you know exactly what is inside your Nothing evil here, I promise. Fungi you can hear the distant sounds wood, and can tell a potential consumer either grow or they don’t, and that’s of mooing. the names of the species and let them pretty much the end of it. Now, do you a) get the free decide for themselves. Or you could just give them the American Woodturner 3) Spalting takes years. hamburger right in front of you article. Spalting takes anywhere from about or b) traverse the labyrinth, kill the cow, cook the cow, then eat an hour to three months if you So there you have it. The top ten the cow? Remember, you are know what you’re doing. It only myths of spalting, laid out and busted starving and quite weak. If it takes years when you leave logs in a concise manner. If you have makes a difference, it’s all or- outside, or do things like #2… questions, or want to yell at me ganic. (someone normally does), you are 2) “I dunno about all that sci- welcome to send me an e-mail at ence, but I have a secret recipe Most people I think would choose [email protected]. I’ve that gets me spalting all the time. the easy food when faced with near been actively researching spalting in It involves (pick any three of the starvation, and fungi are no differ- various forms for ten years. I have following): beer, urine, fertilizer, ent. You don’t want your fungi about twenty peer-reviewed publica- antlers, sawdust, spalted sawdust, hanging out on the surface of your tions, several articles in wood maga- old leaves, burial, prayer, beef wood. You want them inside, giving zines, a few blogs, and a website all jerky…” you nice, penetrating spalting colors. on spalting. I also do several art Thread after thread comes up on So why on earth would you douse shows a year with spalted pieces I’ve the internet about ‘secret recipes’ the outside of your log with easy made. If you’d like more information for spalting. Stop it. Please. Every food? Where is the motivation for on the process or even just to see time someone has told me about the fungi to go inside the wood? what neat things you can create, their recipe it is always followed by Instead of speeding up the process, check out “…and it only takes two years to you are slowing it way, way down. http://www.northernspalting.com. Or get great spalting!” Want to know The fungi don’t need your help. stop by my office in Richardson Hall how much time it takes for nature Make them kill the cow. Adversity at Oregon State University. I’m al- to spalt things? About two years, builds character. ways willing to chat about spalting! sometimes far less. How much time
The Oregon Wood Innovation Center SPRING 2013 PAGE 3 OSU Demonstration Solar Kiln Comes Home
After many years on the road, Once the kiln’s abilities are well technology of drying lumber using the Solar Kiln, built in 1995, is understood and modifications solar power. For more information now parked behind Richardson made to the air circulation and and to monitor updates to the OSU Hall on the OSU campus, and it ventilation systems, plans are be- Demonstration Kiln see http:// looks pretty good after its recent ing made for a few undergraduate owic.oregonstate.edu/solarkiln, or 2007 remodel. The kiln has been -led projects to assess heat treat- contact Kent Davis at used to dry a variety of wood ment of wood for a variety of [email protected] or Scott species over the years, but solid applications. We also plan to col- Leavengood at data reporting has been scant. laborate with the Student Sus- [email protected]. Evidence from Virginia Tech tainability Center to determine if shows that a solar kiln can be an the circulation fans can be oper- effective way to dry lumber, ated using the OSU Solar Trailer. however, little information is Once this test is complete, fund- available from the West Coast. ing for panels and batteries will Plans are being made to instru- be sought so the kiln operation ment the kiln to monitor inside would incur no additional energy temperature and relative humidi- costs and make the kiln truly mo- ty and compare this data with bile. We are excited to have an ambient temperature and solar opportunity to breathe new life radiation to determine the maxi- into the solar kiln project and mum heating potential of the kiln. have high expectations for the
New Wood Machining Course
After many discussions with sec- as a number of tours to local – and even to volunteer to host a ondary products manufacturing businesses to study course con- tour! – contact Kent Davis – companies, Wood Science & En- cepts first-hand. Concepts such [email protected]. gineering (WSE) alum, and faculty as specially designed machines members across OSU, we will be and operations, feed rate, blade offering a wood machining course and tooth pattern choice, sharp- starting fall term 2013. The ening, joinery concepts, and course will introduce concepts of CNC automation will be ex- precision and accuracy in the plored from a manufacturing per- manufacturing of wooden items spective to prepare students to and familiarize students with the understand the processes com- set-up, maintenance, and proper monly used to produce high- use of the most common power value wooden items and to trou- woodworking tools. The course bleshoot unique problems and will consist of lectures, demon- situations that they are likely to strations, and many opportunities encounter in the workplace. For for hands-on experience as well more information on the course
The Oregon Wood Innovation Center Connecting people, ideas, resources SPRING 2013 PAGE 4
Introducing Seri Robinson
Seri Rob- spalting – a process in which fungi spalting workshops several times a inson are grown on wood to produce year where participants can learn the recently natural colorants. In addition to basics of DIY spalting. Her main class, joined scholarly journals Seri dissemi- WSE 415/515 Renewable Materials in the de- nates spalting information the Modern Age, will be offered sev- partment through various trade magazines, eral times a year and will teach the of Wood including Fine Woodworking and concepts of wood anatomy in a col- Science American Woodturner in an ef- laborative setting between under- and Engi- fort to get her research directly graduate and graduate students from neering at Oregon State Univer- to its target audience. She is also diverse majors. Students will learn sity as an assistant professor. an avid woodturner and shows about microscopic wood id and ana- She’s taking over for Barb her work in art galleries around tomical features of various renewable Lachenbruch in wood anatomy, the world. You can check out materials through the creation of 3-D but brings along her other area of some samples of her art and group projects. The class is open to expertise – wood spalting (See learn more about spalting at all, and interested non-traditional stu- pages 1-2). Seri has a background http://www.northernspalting.com. dents and community members are in woodworking from her under- invited to enroll. graduate studies, and focused her Seri will continue to offer wood masters and PhD research in ID services through the depart- wood science on controlled ment, and will also be running
To subscribe to this newsletter send an email to Chris Knowles with “subscribe to newsletter” in the subject line. Contact us: Oregon Wood Innovation Center http://owic.oregonstate.edu 119 Richardson Hall Corvallis, OR 97331-5751 Fax: 541-737-3385 Scott Leavengood, OWIC Director Chris Knowles, OWIC Assistant Director [email protected] [email protected]
Phone: 541-737-4212 Phone 541-737-1438
Previous issues of the OWIC newsletter are available at: http://owic.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/
The Oregon Wood Innovation Center Connecting people, ideas, resources