Spalting is caused by certain white-rot decay fungi growing in wood - primarily hardwoods such as maple, birch, beech, and dogwood.  The fungi create colorful, sometimes fascinating patterns in the wood usually evidenced by contrasting dark lines.  The unusual color lines can range from black to pink to gray and even a variety of colors in the same piece of wood.

If the decay progresses too far the wood gets very weak and spongy and generally useless.  However, woodworks crafted from spalted wood generally take on a distinctive flair of their own.  This is why spalted wood pieces can be highly prized, higher priced and often sought-after by woodworks collectors.

As the wood dries the fungi go dormant and are considered to be encapsulated by many modern finishes.  This makes them safe to handle, but such pieces are not recommended for contact with food as a general rule.  This is why you shouldn't see spalted salad bowls.

Complementary and contrasting color accents can be made in many ways.  We currently have these favorites:

• Wood shavings - We save wood shavings and dust from general woodworking and use that in various applications to fill cracks and voids.  The shavings and sawdust may be mixed with white, yellow, or cyanoacrylate glue or a two-part epoxy as appropriate and applied to a void, crack, knot hole or imperfection.  Colors added this way are more natural and subtle.  These techniques are often used when we want to correct slight imperfections in a piece.
  
• Artificial colorants - Over time we may use a number of different artificial colorant processes.  Currently, we are using mostly Pearl-ex pigments mixed with a two-part epoxy.  This combination can be worked quickly and often provides stunning and spectacular points of interest in a piece.  The objective is always to make a piece look interesting and attractive by adding these colors. 

We may use a variety of finishes on different products over time.  Our favorite finish is General Finishes' Arm-R-Seal Oil and Urethane Top Coat and Seal-A-Cell Sanding Sealer.  These are wipe-on finishes.  They bring out much of the color and features of the natural wood and also protect the piece with the hard urethane finish.  Depending on the product we may use a gloss, semi-gloss or satin finish as best fits the application.

These finishes typically are fulling cured in a matter of days.  In most cases they are fully cured before we send them out.  Once fully cured these finishes are generally considered to be non-toxic.  Despite that indication we do not recommend, endorse or warrant our products as food safe for direct contact with raw food. 

Care and cleaning of our products is typically done through regular dusting and/or occasional cleaning with a damp cloth.  Always dry the piect immediately after wiping with a damp cloth to make sure no moisture remains on the finish.

There are lots of good resources available on turning lidded boxes such as books, CDs, DVDs, web sites, and woodturning / woodworking clubs to name a few.  As part of a class I taught for the Gwinnett Woodworkers Association's Woodturning Special Interest Group I am posting the following information in the hopes that it helps at least one woodworker enjoy their woodturning on the lathe.  As with most things this is just one way to go about turning lidded boxes.  Based on your experience, lathe, tools, and creative ideas you may find a better or different way to make the best, most beautiful, most creative lidded box.

 A printable version (PDF) of the notes for "Turning Lidded Boxes " is available by clicking that link.
 

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