I recently acquired a couple of log-slices of birch which had been sat amongst a friend's firewood pile for many years. The slices were bone dry and fungal attach was well advanced, with s white, cotton-sheet like fungus creeping under the bark and random patches of bark missing. This first piece is about 14" across at the widest point and 5" overall. It was ridiculously soft and tore out worse than anything else I've turned, so ridiculously fine cuts had to be made and a fair bit of sanding.
The finish is 2 coats of Treatex satin wax-oil, which I had as a trade sample from Richard Findley. It was wiped on with soft paper, then left to dry, and I have to say that I was amazed by the quality of this product. In the past, when I've used oil, several coats have had to be applied to such punky wood, but this sealed on its first coat and gave a finish on its second. Finally, it's had a couple of coats of microcrystaline wax.
C&C always welcome...Les
