Ambrosia Maple

Re: Ambrosia Maple

Gary Evans, Tallassee, TN

>Hi Don,

It goes by various names; blue stain, green stain, gray stain, but it's all the result of fungal growth in the wood. Fungi need heat, moisture, food, and oxygen in order to proliferate.

Unfortunately, some of your pieces were inoculated with fungal spores and conditions were right to produce the results you see.

One way to prevent staining is to store your pieces in a freezer. Another is to dry them as quickly as possible, but you risk extra cracking and warping if you do. It is a difficult problem, one I'm struggling with on my holly right now. I'm getting ready to restore an old chest type freezer just to put my white wood blanks in.

Gary

Heat will kill the fungus.

Dave Smith, Longview, WA

>Hi Don,

Unfortunately sealing the wood made ideal conditions for the fungus to grow. I am unaware that freezing will kill the spores or the fungus. I know that boiling the roughed out bowls will kill the fungus. I have had good success soaking pieces in alcohol to rapidly dry bowls and preventing the spread of the blue stain. The key is to dry the wood as fast as possible. The fungus needs a certain moisture level to grow. Once the wood is dry the fungus ceases to grow and cause problems.

Good luck.

Dave Smith

Spring is a little late in Longview, WA.

Re: Ambrosia Maple

Ed in No.VA

>Don

one of our old timers said that lemon juice will bleach out blue stain. I haven't tried it yet.

Re: Ambrosia Maple

Jim King

>That is a common problem in our tropical species also. What I do is when the piece is turned and ready to sand I put it into a solution of two cups of swimming pool chlorine to a gallon of water for two days and the stain disapears . Then I dry the piece again and sand and apply the finnish. No stain and back to the natural color. Blue stain or mold stains all are eliminated.

Re: Ambrosia Maple

GaryG in MD

>Jim, Very good tip; thanks. ...Gary