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Old 24th Jul 2018, 11:18 am   #1
terrybull
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Default Woodworm

This is not radio specific so I hope it's okay. I have purchased an oak table. It is designed to look older than it is but is probably anything from 50 years to a few years old. Solid oak with random woodworm holes. Is there away of telling if it's fake or genuine, active or dead. If it needs treating what is the best way as this is a dining table
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Old 24th Jul 2018, 11:50 am   #2
paulsherwin
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Default Re: Woodworm

Flight holes made within the last few years will look like freshly drilled wood. If the holes have darkened then they're old.

You don't need to worry until next spring when any active beetles will chew their way out and fly off to lay eggs. You will find little piles of sawdust under the new holes.

There are lots of threads discussing woodworm if you search the forum, with a range of opinions about treatments.
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Old 24th Jul 2018, 11:54 am   #3
ms660
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Default Re: Woodworm

If genuine...Looks similar to a pinhole borer, if so then long gone.

Lawrence.

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Old 24th Jul 2018, 7:30 pm   #4
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Default Re: Woodworm

Hmmm ..... Anobium Punctatum .... arrived in this country via cheap plywood Indian Tea chests [the things seem to love the resin used in plywood manufacture] .... it can be seen 'in the wild' too. The 'saw dust' mentioned by others is called 'frass' ..... and looks bright an new if the insects are alive.

The beetles themselves are tiny shiny dark/conker brown critters ..... about the same size as the head of a needleworkers pin [that's 'pin' not needle!].

There are various methods of treatment - but a word of caution ..... it generally doesn't favour acidic hardwoods like Oak [which is more the domain of Deathwatch etc.]. Further, many 'repro' furniture manufacturers have cunningly replicated the appearance of fly holes etc. in their products ...........
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Old 24th Jul 2018, 8:22 pm   #5
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Default Re: Woodworm

I have only seen woodworm in oak softwood other than the bottom of table legs which had partially rotted due to standing on a wet cold stone floor.

I have a clock which had worm and took it to a clock repairer who trated it and gave an 80 year gurantee. Only 30 more to go. The treatment consisted in soaking in paraffin. I have treated my floorboards with commercial woodworm treatment but I would not use this where it may contact food.
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Old 24th Jul 2018, 9:11 pm   #6
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Default Re: Woodworm

I agree - woodworm in oak is unusual.
Given your description of the table, is it possible that they're fake holes, made to suggest antiquity?
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Old 24th Jul 2018, 9:47 pm   #7
TimLiggins
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Default Re: Woodworm

That doesn't look like woodworm. More like someone's been throwing darts at it.

It's unusual for oak to be affected anyway. The holes appear to be filled with wax so even if they are wormholes they are not active.

Woodworm doesn't thrive in modern centrally heated and dry houses. Concerns are historical and not generally justified today.

About 15 years ago I bought a set of Georgian dining chairs at auction. Stripping the old upholstery revealed the old beech seat frames were honeycombed with worm damage but no sign of active infestation. However, to be sure I used a syringe (my wife was a nurse) to inject Cuprinol woodworm treatment into every hole, completely flooding the wood. I then filled the holes with Titebond Hide glue and wrapped the wood with hessian soaked in the same glue to restore strength. Once thoroughly dry the chairs were reupholstered and are still doing sterling service.
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Old 24th Jul 2018, 10:15 pm   #8
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Default Re: Woodworm

Hmm, they do look too irregular. I have never seen furniture beetle in (dry) oak.

Miniature rollers with irregularly placed spikes have been manufactured in the past (probably still are), which when used on wood are supposed to replicate flight holes and add age/patination. Either that or it could be accidental damage, cause unknown.
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Old 24th Jul 2018, 11:49 pm   #9
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Default Re: Woodworm

When I treated some woodwork a few years ago using the now unobtainable spirit-based Cuprinol 5 star, applied with a brush by flooding the surface, the liquid quickly disappeared at the holes as it flowed into the tunnels, leaving no surface liquid at the holes. Even by locally injecting liquid at each hole it took a lot of effort before free liquid was visible at the holes. I would expect that if the holes were faked by simple indentation, it would be possible for a film of liquid to cover indented holes, as these would rapidly fill up with liquid.
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Old 26th Sep 2018, 10:26 am   #10
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Default Re: Woodworm

I bought the other half an old spinning wheel, lovely made but quite riddled with worm holes. It went straight into my workshop - which has thousands of pounds worth of tonewood intended for musical instruments, not to mention thousands of pounds worth of violins and other completed instruments, some very antique . I'm not the slightest bit worried. The workshop is too dry for them. That's the important bit, dry. Anobium punctatum need damp wood. I've years of experience of this. Back in the days when I was house bashing (Victorian houses) I never came across flight holes. Imagine lifting thousands and thousands of board feet of floorboards for rewiring purposes. None! . . . . except in damp cellars, under baths that had obviously leaked, in attics and lofts where the rain had been entering for many years. It's not by coincidence. Put wood in a dry environment and the little 'uns will take flight for better pastures. Forget the chemicals (I know folk won't, it gives them a sense of security!) it's all nonsense and far too late to do anything about it anyway. Just put the item in dry conditions.
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Old 26th Sep 2018, 10:31 am   #11
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Default Re: Woodworm

I still have a gallon of unopened Cuprinol 5 star in the garage.

Must be correct re damp places as I had an Ecko TV in the garage and it was lost through W/worm which certainly was not there when it had indeed been kept in the house.
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Old 26th Sep 2018, 12:08 pm   #12
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Default Re: Woodworm

They look fake to me. A proper woodworm hole continues into the wood with roughly the same diameter. As mentioned, the test is to see if white spirit runs into the hole or sits on top because it does not go anywhere.

I have a Georgian chair made of cherry or similar and this has various flight holes and some parts have been replaced, adds to the authenticity. I have also noticed French oak furniture is often riddled with holes and I had oak stair rails in our last house that had some too.
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Old 26th Sep 2018, 3:58 pm   #13
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Default Re: Woodworm

Hi.

I have treated woodworm by injecting pure turpentine in the flight holes and giving it plenty of time to soak in. Further applications are worthwhile. It seems to be successful if you're thorough in carrying it out.

Regards
Symon.
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Old 26th Sep 2018, 5:23 pm   #14
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Default Re: Woodworm

Petro-chemicals are certainly a good killer if the flammability and odour issues are taken into consideration. I read an Odham's 'How to' book from the '30s, which suggested 1 part paraffin to 1 part petrol, flooding out the flight holes using a glass dropper.

I got buzzed by an irritable hornet while dismantling a car part on the work bench. The nearest thing to hand was Plus-Gas, and because the target was large i managed a direct hit. It simply fell out of the sky, and the lack of movement once it had hit the deck was almost total. On this isolated occasion I was glad to have big guns instead of watered down permethrin.

Dave
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