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So I was digging through my wood stash to grab some ideas for Healdsburg. This is what I found in a set of Mad Rose. In case you can't make out what's going on, the little piles are sawdust made by some sort of bug. Tunnels in the sapwood only. I didn't find any other evidence of anything. Should I bomb my shop to make sure nothing is living?

Oh my gosh! Was that there before you received the wood? Call an exterminator if nothing else. You could have some sort of funky tropical infestation on your hands. Or just termites. Or wood-boring beetles

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

So the question is, did these bugs come with the wood?

I don't know what the situation is in the USA. But if this happened in Australia, ethically, I'd have to call the quarantine inspection service, and they'd be all over it. Our geographical isolation means that we're also isolated from foreign pests. So when we do have an outbreak, usually from something that hitched a free ride, the results can be pretty devastating for the environment and/or our primary producers.

Perhaps you ought to get it checked out by the local authorities, who might just figure it's safer to confiscate your stash and burn it.

305 degrees Farenheit ought to take care of the little beggars.... When you get there, you may as well bend some sides and glue some backs...

Yeah, I'm thinking I'll pass on calling the authorities. I'm pretty sure the critters came with the wood, all the way from madagascar.
Bruce, while your idea is interesting, I'm running low on propane so I best save it up for the cold days to come.
I'll probably call a bug guy tomarrow and see what they say.

Paul, did you find any insects? If you can find a few and send them to me, I'll try and find out what they are. Is it just surface abrasion or are their tunnels deeper in the wood? Where and how was the wood stored? To be safe I'd check all of your other wood. You could also freeze the wood (for an extended period) to kill any insects. I can't recommend an insecticide without knowing for sure what your dealing with. A few more closeup pictures and details would also help.    Don A38419.9063773148

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Nice to have a resident entomologist on the forum. Not to worry when Dr. Atwood is on the case. Please keep us all posted as to what you find.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Paul,
That's pretty common in sapwood. What you're seeing are tunnels created by some type of wood eating instect. The packed material within those tunnels is bug sh#$. My money says the wood was sent to you like that. However if you notice a lot of loose dust, it's a good chance the dust was created by powder post beetles. If that's the case, your best bet is to remove the sapwood ASAP. I wouldn't worry about fumigating your shop at all. I've noticed those beetles like sapwood and Prima Vera.
Steve

Don, I didn't find any bugs at all. And believe me, I looked high and low. We had dry wood termites in my house in AZ and the guy treated it with boric acid. Worked like a charm and reletively non toxic.
Steve. I'm noticing the same thing. The dust is all new but it stops in the sapwood. I isolated the set in a plastic bag thinking that the bugs would possibably suffocate but for sure wouldn't move on to anything else.

How long have you had the wood and how large are the exit holes? I'm assuming the light colored material on the sapwood is a fine dust. If so, Steve is right that it is a powder post beetle. The dust indicates that the adults have probably emerged from the wood. They can reinfest the same wood. If it is all larger and granular in consistency, it would indicate termites. Just to be safe I'd cut off the sapwood (discard or burn it) and salvage the rest for a smaller guitar. You could also treat the wood with a borate product but it will stay in the wood for a about a year. Don A38420.0652430556

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Paul, Try putting the wood in a sealed bag with some moth balls in it for a week or so. That should take care of your bug problem.

Ummmm, not to be unsympathetic and all, but you are soon going to
send some wooden objects that were in your shop to my shop. How does
that Lyptus look? Any dust piles? Should the clamps be baked/frozen/
fumigated/irradiated/etc?

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Use one of the new 'smart bombs'

Howard, rest assured NOTHING else as been touched. Plus the wood I'm using for the clamps has only been in the shop for a week at most and it's always being worked on so I doubt any little critters will be comfortable hunkering down. I've saved your clamps for last because they are of a size that is different than the rest. I'm not using Lyptus on any of them as I found it to be brittle and went with ASH on almost all of them. When I went to resupply the ASH all the wood supplier has was junk so I bought maple and beech. Between the two I think Beech is by far the best choice and is what I was planning to make yours out of unless you have any arguements. ...and if you are nervous about my bugs, you can cancel. I'm doing this as a favor, not a money maker so it would be no problem with me.

Paul, I agree with others in that they look like powder post beetles. They are not termites, and I know because they visit my old house from time to time.

As Don said, cut off the sapwood if you can then burn it. If not, fume it inside a plastic bag...

I was being semi-tongue-in-cheek. Beech or maple good. I appreciate
what you are doing.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.