Smelly Oak Wood

Dale Wallace

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58
Location
Chicago, Illinois
So let me get started by saying that this oak log was found at the side of the road about a month ago, it seemed to be perfect to be used as a desk, so I got it, left it on my porch for about a month and last week I decided to cut it with my sawmill. So during the cut nothing smelled, neither before or after...so immediately after cutting it I put it in my garage and after a couple of hours my whole garage started smelling like crap, literally. A very strong terrible smell. After a week it's either better or I got used to the smell. But if you go close you can definetely smell it. So I don't know if it has a disease or maybe an animal pooped on it...but the slabs have some black spots on them that I don't know if I should be worried about. I'm including photos of 2 of the slabs so that those who are more experienced look at it.
 

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Wasn't from a tree growing over the septic tanks was it? :D

You jest, but a friend has an apple tree growing in a location like that and the apples.. are... not pleasant or edible.. I would be surprised if the wood doesn't have similar problems given how the smell propagates all the way into the fruit! I've also heard about this kind of thing happening with trees growing in swampy ground.
 
You jest, but a friend has an apple tree growing in a location like that and the apples.. are... not pleasant or edible.. I would be surprised if the wood doesn't have similar problems given how the smell propagates all the way into the fruit! I've also heard about this kind of thing happening with trees growing in swampy ground.
Interesting! What about the black spots though? Lol
Any ideas on what I could use or do to block the smell ?

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the smell could be from the larve that had made that area a home. as for getting rid of the smell after it dries you should be better of. in my opinion i would try another piece of wood. the work involved to get this in a good project isnt worth it you have a mill so cutting another is no problem and the next one might be better:)
 
Interesting! What about the black spots though? Lol

Those sure look like someone smaller liked the smell, I'm assuming there's some bug frass around them as well? Like Larry says they might have left a bit of odor behind as well. I'm guessing that the color is likely water stain where moisture followed the critters into the wood.

If the smell is in the wood and not the bugs I'm with Larry that it'll be a trick to not have it kind of linger around for a long time. You could try sealing it with something relatively impervious like epoxy.. but you might be wasting good epoxy as well :)
 
Those sure look like someone smaller liked the smell, I'm assuming there's some bug frass around them as well? Like Larry says they might have left a bit of odor behind as well. I'm guessing that the color is likely water stain where moisture followed the critters into the wood.

If the smell is in the wood and not the bugs I'm with Larry that it'll be a trick to not have it kind of linger around for a long time. You could try sealing it with something relatively impervious like epoxy.. but you might be wasting good epoxy as well :)
I see, that sounds about right. I'll keep doing some research into what it could be or what it can be done about it. Is it worth trying to clean it with some type of material that would kill the bacteria ?


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Is it worth trying to clean it with some type of material that would kill the bacteria ?

The bacteria is probably dead, I mean there could still be some alive.. but it's likely not (or at least not meaningful amounts). The smell doesn't mean there's live bugs just that there's something left in the wood that stinks.

There's not a lot that really removes embedded stink, you could try spraying it down with a saturating solution of febreeze, that has cylodextrins that traps odors (the science there is actually pretty cool) but I'm betting that even if you get the surface stink off the next time you cut into it, the smell will come back. And there's the chance that even if it smells good now, it might not in a month or so. If the smell is something volatile (like hydrogen sulfide or one of the other active sulfur compounds) its possible that it'll eventually dissipate on its own.

So I guess.. either leave it and wait and see (and cut into it a wee bit in a month or so if the smell is still there), try derenching in a febreeze solution (I don't believe this will interfere with any finishes.. but I also haven't tried it on wood so.. it might heh) and wait (ditto on checking later to see if there is hidden odor).. or toss it in the outdoor burn pit :)
 
The bacteria is probably dead, I mean there could still be some alive.. but it's likely not (or at least not meaningful amounts). The smell doesn't mean there's live bugs just that there's something left in the wood that stinks.

There's not a lot that really removes embedded stink, you could try spraying it down with a saturating solution of febreeze, that has cylodextrins that traps odors (the science there is actually pretty cool) but I'm betting that even if you get the surface stink off the next time you cut into it, the smell will come back. And there's the chance that even if it smells good now, it might not in a month or so. If the smell is something volatile (like hydrogen sulfide or one of the other active sulfur compounds) its possible that it'll eventually dissipate on its own.

So I guess.. either leave it and wait and see (and cut into it a wee bit in a month or so if the smell is still there), try derenching in a febreeze solution (I don't believe this will interfere with any finishes.. but I also haven't tried it on wood so.. it might heh) and wait (ditto on checking later to see if there is hidden odor).. or toss it in the outdoor burn pit :)
Wow thanks! That's some really useful advice!!! I really appreciate it! I'm just gonna leave it as it is then and see maybe in a month or so, that will probably work, otherwise I'll use it for firewood.
Do you think that epoxy could just isolate the odor by the way ? It seems logical but Idk.

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Shellac is sometimes used to seal odors, mostly less puzzling ones like smoke (or oil based finishes) but that might be a solution. I think Larryis pot on, it's not worth extra trouble. Still, letting it dry and checking later isn't going to cost you anything but the aggravation of putting up with the odor for a while.
 
I've not run into a smell from oak, but I got a load of walnut from a lady in north Knoxville... the tree grew outside a fence that surrounded a horse lot.... when I started turning the wood, I could smell the horse manure that must have permeated the ground around the lot... Walnut usually has it's own smell, but this was definitely horse manure.
 
Dewaxed shellac has been the answer for me in such situations. I had the misfortune of offering to resurrect an old medicine cabinet that had belonged to his father. Long story short---this had been stored in an old shed and had been liberally used by numerous cats--you all know the stink. I sprayed this unit liberally with Zinsser dewaxed shellac many times and this did effectively lock in that smell---which seemed to last over time. As an aside I did charge the man a reasonable fee which caused him much grief---hasn't spoken to me since. I consider myself lucky.
 
I had some elm a while back that came from a boggy area and had a smell to it. To get rid of the smell, I used a good soaking of denatured alcohol. Seemed to do the trick. The elm quit stinking and made some nice bowls. I think the stuff may kill bugs as well, but don't hold me to that.
 
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