Replies

1. 
   kiwimac21 | Feb 23, 2004 07:23am | #1

   Hi radar

   It's really tempting to take the p_ _ _, mate.

   Lock your wood in an insect-proof container with some heavily infested furniture and wait 5 years! Trouble is, even if you could, you'd get some that was just dust, and some that was untouched, and you wouldn't be able to make furniture with any of it!

   Have you thought of a shotgun with light shot (whatever it's called in the US)? Make the piece, finish it, then shoot the s_ _ _ out of it.

1. 
   JMartinsky | Feb 23, 2004 08:05am | #2

   It's called light shot here and I've made a few peices that I should of shot, with buck or larger shot. Mabe even a sluG!

   John

2. 
   forestgirl | Feb 23, 2004 08:41am | #3

   Powder post beetles are the ones people talk about the most, and I've seen lots of furniture at auction houses that was infested.  I'd think it'd be pretty difficult to "cultivate" them the way your talking about.  You can certainly find old furniture that's pre-drilled, so-to-speak.  In fact, we have a huge (HUGE) low-boy in storage that's just like that.  I swear, the wood's an inch thick.  Heavier than sin.

   How many BF do you need????? <g>

   As for messed-up wood not being usable for building, I remember there was a magazine last year sometime(?) that had a picture of a display cabinet made from sunken-boat wood.  It was like Swiss cheese, just about, but the guy made a spectacular cabinet out of it.  Could be that epoxy or something was involved.  Don't remember.

   forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

3. 
   OneofmanyBobs | Feb 23, 2004 02:13pm | #4

   Asking for trouble and it takes years.  Load up some shotgun shells with salt.  Mixed road salt and table salt.  Blast away.  Wash thoroughly.  Salt dissolves.  Bird shot does not.  Or, just use a Dremel and drill a lot of little tiny holes.  Safe, simple, and does not take all that long.

4. 
   MaxdOut | Feb 23, 2004 07:25pm | #5

   I use the ice pick method. That way you can pick and choose where you want the holes to appear. Works well for me!

5. 
   Froed | Feb 23, 2004 08:00pm | #6

   If you want the chest to look like it was built from infested boards, make sure you "treat" them before assembly (before gluing up panels, too), and don't do every board.  The bugs wouldn't have eaten every board the same, and if you do it after, you'll get patches of holes overlapping the joints, which is an obvious give-away.