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Hello,

I picked up the angel wing spalted maple set from the classifieds. The back set can be resawn into two sets. Should I stabilize it first with CA and then resaw or resaw first? Any special considerations for the resaw? This is the first time I’ve worked with spalted maple. It’s a little intimidating.

Brad


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Huh, I didn't even know the classifieds were still a thing.
Is it worth the $?

I've only resawn spalted hickory for endgrafts, rosettes, and headplates, ie, small stuff.
I haven't stablized it at all, but I wasn't working on a big item.

I haven't cut sides or backs but like Skarsaune a fair amount for rosettes and headplates and other projects.

I never did anything different to cut it than any other wood. It often seems to be slightly softer than undecayed wood of the same species but if the decay has gone too far (punky) I'd work around it or try to make it more stable with CA or some other wood hardener.

One thing to be careful of is the dust as the mold can cause serious reactions in some people. Read up on the hazards involved.

Good cleanup and PPE should also be considered. A banjo builder friend got some dust in a cut or rash and had a pretty severe reaction that required hospitalization if I remember correctly.

I've cut a LOT of maple for firewood, and a lot of it ended up with some spalting and a lot of dust was inhaled in the woods without a problem but I may just not be sensitive to it ... yet.

That was a beautiful set!

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

I had a shop stash of good 3M N95 masks before Covid struck for just such occasions...

Dave

Interesting, I never thought about it being more dangerous because of the spaltting. Good to know, thanks!

Pat

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Pat

I resaw it as is. If it's too soft to saw, I don't use it. I do saturate it with thin CA once installed. I've worked with spalted Maple for decades and have never had any reaction to it.

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It will probably be alright.

Once the wood has been dry for at least a couple of years, the fungi that created the spalt should be dead, however, there will still be viable spores present that could generate if they found moist growing conditions like the inside of one's lungs. This isn't common but some people are more sensitive to fungal infections.

Brad, so glad you asked the question you did as I have a few larger wood turner blocks of spalted maple that I bought years ago on eBay in anticipation of using for a rosette and end grafts. I have watched several wood turner YouTube videos wondering how the blocks didn't explode on a lathe but and I am still too chicken to commit to a bandsaw without stabilizing it some how. I have no sense for how soft/spongy my blocks are relative to the videos I have watched.

I am selfishly curious as to how you make out and how you stabilize it. It can be gorgeous stuff and I think would beautifully accent a guitar depending on the species of backs and sides chosen.

MinWax sells a product called Wood Hardener that I have used many times to firm up punkey wood so it can be turned. CA glue does same thing on smaller scale.

What happens if you vacuum fill the wood with plastic when you then try to bend it on a bending iron? For example. does the plastic melt and make a mess?