We recently received an order for a Spalted Maple piece and thought we’d take the opportunity to make sure you’re acquainted with one of our favorite wood options and how we process it.

We source our Spalted Maple from dying maple trees found elevated from the forest floor. Insects and fungi love to make homes in the decomposing wood, which is where the striking bands of grey, brown, and blue come from. The color variation is one of the most notable features of the Spalted Maple, and the work of those beetles and mushrooms doesn't affect the structural integrity. 

The process

For this project, a log was given to us entirely unprocessed. So, we rough-cut the lumber and then dried it. Since there was some checking on this board, we filled the gaps with epoxy. Lastly, we planed the lumber and sanded it smooth so it was ready to be used! We used this wood specifically to create shelves and tables. Stay tuned for the final product!

In just a few steps, the Spalted Maple went from this:

To this:

In many cases, we’ll coat the wood to the customer’s desired finish by applying any topcoats or stains on-site. This alleviates some work for our customers, which we're always happy to do! 

Get inspired by Spalted Maple and see the potential this wood has, or reach out to our experts to see what other exciting flooring options Excelsior can offer you!