Allen Spalted Pecan

In the decorative wood market, spalted wood is in high demand. Spalting is caused by certain white-rot decay fungi growing in wood, primarily hardwoods such as pecan. The fungi create "zone lines" in the wood where territories of competing fungi meet. The unusual coloration - black, pink, gray, and multicolored streaks - may result from reactions between the wood, the decay fungi, and insect deposits. If these decay fungi area allowed to grow for too long, however, the strength of the wood is diminished.

The Spalted Pecan that we have here at Salt Shaker Woodworks, was purchased from a Mr. Allen, after whom I named this wood. Mr. Allen was a woodworker himself until health issues forced him to stop. Like me, Mr. Allen spent years gathering wood for use in his shop but now needed to get rid of it. I bought all the stock he had, much of which was reclaimed such as this wood that came from a mostly dead pecan tree in his yard that had to be cut down. I was very fortunate to find Mr. Allen when I did. He had been trying to sell his stock for a while with no takers so he was on the verge of dumping or burning all of it.