Skip to content
Woodworking Masterclasses
Facebook Instagram
  • Register Now
  • Video Library
  • GalleryExpand
    • Bedside Cabinet GalleryExpand
      • Assembly Table Gallery
      • Bathroom Cabinet Gallery
      • Bench Stool Gallery
      • Blanket Chest Gallery
      • Bookends Gallery
      • Book Shelves Gallery
      • Breadboard-end Cutting Board Gallery
      • Carrying Tote Gallery
      • Chess Board Gallery
      • Chest of Drawers Gallery
      • Christmas Gallery
      • Coasters Gallery
      • Coat Rack Gallery
      • Coffee Table Gallery
      • Corner Shelf Gallery
      • Craftsman-style Lamp Gallery
      • Dining Chair Gallery
      • Dovetail Boxes Gallery
      • Fly Swat Gallery
      • Frame Saw Gallery
    • Foot Stool GalleryExpand
      • How to Make a Table
      • Joiner’s Mallet Gallery
      • Joiners’ Toolbox Gallery
      • Keepsake Box Gallery
      • Laptop Desk Gallery
      • Leaning Wall Shelf Gallery
      • Mitre Box Gallery
      • Occasional Table Gallery
      • Picture Frames Gallery
      • Rocking Chair
      • Sawhorse Gallery
      • Shaker-Style Bench Seat Gallery
      • Shaker Stool Gallery
      • Sofa Table Gallery
      • Stepladder Gallery
    • Trestle TableExpand
      • Tool Cabinet
      • Tool Chest Gallery
      • Walking Cane Gallery
      • Wall Brackets Gallery
      • Wallclock Gallery
      • Wall Shelf Gallery
      • Winding Sticks Gallery
      • Wooden Plane Gallery
      • Wooden Spokeshave
      • Wooden Tray Gallery
      • Workbench Gallery
      • Other user projects vol. I
      • Other user projects vol. II
      • Submit Photos to Gallery
  • About Us
  • News
  • FAQsExpand
    • General FAQs
    • Workbench FAQs
  • Contact
Account Login
Woodworking Masterclasses

It's surprising what you can find in firewood

Search
Previous Back to: Wood and Wood Preparation10 Replies

Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Wood and Wood Preparation / It's surprising what you can find in firewood

Tagged: beech, box, firewood, spalting

  • This topic has 10 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 2 months ago by pnj2411.
  • Author
    Posts
  • pnj2411
    9 March 2014 at 12:13 am #28726

    All winter long, I’ve been burning these beech logs. Because of obvious spalting marks, I rescued some. Yesterday I opened one of them up (with a band saw). Now I wish I hadn’t burnt any of them. I aim to do the projects one by one in order. The clock and the carrying tote are done, so this will be the wood for a dovetail box, I hope.
    Does anyone know where that blue-green colour comes from? It reminds me of copper sulphate.
    And is wood like this, clearly in the first stages of decay, likely to be unsound structurally?

    Manxman living in France

    Settings
    Dave
    9 March 2014 at 1:08 am #28734

    Paul, those soon to be boards are going to be beautiful. I would really look at edge jointing them to make some nice book matched panels for cabinet doors and such.

    Structurally they should be okay for furniture, boxes etc. if not, you can always make new pieces 🙂

    -Canada

    Settings
    pnj2411
    13 March 2014 at 8:03 pm #28894

    Yes Dave there would have been some nice bookmatches in there, I’ll try that next time. For now I wanted to go ahead with a box. Here’s how it turned out. The wood was a bit wormy in places, and unevenly textured in the heavily spalted areas but otherwise sound enough to work. I liked the curve of the bark edge, so kept that for the top and base. This was my first attempt at dovetails, and they are very gappy in places with one complete disaster where I cut out recesses on the wrong side of the line. But all the spalting lines distract attention from my mistakes 🙂 This was a lot of fun and I’m very grateful to Paul and this site for making it possible. At the moment the finish is just shellac – going to cut it back with wax tomorrow. Also need to get some hinges.

    Manxman living in France

    Settings
    Dave
    13 March 2014 at 9:14 pm #28899

    I really wish I had some of that firewood….

    Thats a really nice looking box. Keep that box, gaps, errant cuts and all because in a year your going to look back at it and be amazed at how far you have come with your joinery. I still have my first box, gaps and all, I made a special goop out of sawdust and glue to use as filler lol

    I think that green is caused either by the insects themselves or fungus that takes hold after the bugs.

    -Canada

    Settings
    Greg Merritt
    14 March 2014 at 12:31 am #28909

    That is a nice box. The spalted wood lends a look of art to it. Dovetails get better with repetition. No other way to get there. Again, good looking box, well done.

    http://hillbillydaiku.com

    Settings
    Mark Armstrong
    14 March 2014 at 10:22 am #28922

    What a very unusual looking box. I like it a lot can hardly notice joinery defects.
    Keep up the good work looking forward to your next project.

    Dagenham, Essex, England

    Settings
    cpetersen1970
    14 March 2014 at 11:47 am #28924

    Love the look of the box! The spalting is really dramatic and like the others have said, imperfections lend character as well as giving you reference on the development of your skills.

    Pretty sure *everyone* would say much the same thing about their first dovetails…I know I would.

    Settings
    Sandy
    14 March 2014 at 12:49 pm #28925

    My first Dovetails look a lot worse… Practice practice practice! It’s fun!

    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

    Albert Einstein

    Settings
    Sandy
    14 March 2014 at 1:15 pm #28927

    It is amazing sometime what you can find in the firewood pile..

    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

    Albert Einstein

    Settings
    David Gill
    14 March 2014 at 3:03 pm #28930

    Paul a really nice box the pattern in the wood is fantastic most unusual

    Wigan, Lancs. England :

    Settings
    pnj2411
    16 March 2014 at 9:32 pm #28970

    Thanks everyone. The wood is the star here. Next box will be something a bit more plain, concentrating on improving the joinery. Having this resource and the videos to watch again makes me much more confident than I would otherwise be 🙂

    Manxman living in France

    Settings
  • Author
    Posts
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Log In

About Our Company

Woodworking Masterclasses is a trading name of Rokesmith Ltd

Rokesmith Ltd



About Rokesmith Ltd | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | About Us


Useful Links

© 2023 - Rokesmith Ltd

  • Register Now
  • Video Library
  • Gallery
    • Bedside Cabinet Gallery
      • Assembly Table Gallery
      • Bathroom Cabinet Gallery
      • Bench Stool Gallery
      • Blanket Chest Gallery
      • Bookends Gallery
      • Book Shelves Gallery
      • Breadboard-end Cutting Board Gallery
      • Carrying Tote Gallery
      • Chess Board Gallery
      • Chest of Drawers Gallery
      • Christmas Gallery
      • Coasters Gallery
      • Coat Rack Gallery
      • Coffee Table Gallery
      • Corner Shelf Gallery
      • Craftsman-style Lamp Gallery
      • Dining Chair Gallery
      • Dovetail Boxes Gallery
      • Fly Swat Gallery
      • Frame Saw Gallery
    • Foot Stool Gallery
      • How to Make a Table
      • Joiner’s Mallet Gallery
      • Joiners’ Toolbox Gallery
      • Keepsake Box Gallery
      • Laptop Desk Gallery
      • Leaning Wall Shelf Gallery
      • Mitre Box Gallery
      • Occasional Table Gallery
      • Picture Frames Gallery
      • Rocking Chair
      • Sawhorse Gallery
      • Shaker-Style Bench Seat Gallery
      • Shaker Stool Gallery
      • Sofa Table Gallery
      • Stepladder Gallery
    • Trestle Table
      • Tool Cabinet
      • Tool Chest Gallery
      • Walking Cane Gallery
      • Wall Brackets Gallery
      • Wallclock Gallery
      • Wall Shelf Gallery
      • Winding Sticks Gallery
      • Wooden Plane Gallery
      • Wooden Spokeshave
      • Wooden Tray Gallery
      • Workbench Gallery
      • Other user projects vol. I
      • Other user projects vol. II
      • Submit Photos to Gallery
  • About Us
  • News
  • FAQs
    • General FAQs
    • Workbench FAQs
  • Contact
Login Account
Search