Is this wood junk?

[ajbruggink]

Hey guys,

I left a bow stave that I was trying to sand the hide glue off from a failed sinew backing attempt in my basement and after about a year it has developed some dark spots on the stave's belly. Is this the result of leaving unfinished wood in a damp environment for too long? Do you guys think this wood is junk now because of it? If it is relevant, it is a red oak lumber stave that I made too light, put some recurves in it later, and then tried to sinew back it but I used poor quality hide glue and horizontal cracks in the sinew backing developed, prompting me to later soak off the sinew. I sanded the hide glue that remained on the back but I couldn't get it off in one session and unfortunately, I just kept putting it off to the side in favor of working on other projects. Your replies are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Aaron
https://imgur.com/ZgxBJB4
https://imgur.com/MoD06nk

[Pat B]

It could be a fungus. As you work the wood try to compare it to how it was before. Is the wood crumbly or feel softer than it did before?

[dratera]

Yeah looks like mold, probably can just sand it off

[Pat B]

I'd take a small sample and do a bend test before building a bow with it.

[ajbruggink]

I'd take a small sample and do a bend test before building a bow with it.

Okay, thanks Pat B. I was planning on narrowing this bow anyway, its currently 1 1/2" wide at its widest point.

[Pat B]

What kind of wood is it?

[bradsmith2010]

Red oak I think

[M2A]

Those spots look a lot like specs of dirt got mixed in with the glue when it was wet. I have seen that when sealing staves with glue.  But if I thought it could be something breaking down the wood I'd burn it and find a new piece. 
Mike

[ajbruggink]

What kind of wood is it?

Red oak lumber

[Pat B]

Scrape the area where the black dots are and see if it is just on the glue or in the wood.

[gutpile]

quarter sawn ?..appears to be early wood degrading... in all honesty... Id just start a new bow if it is just a board of red oak... certainly not worth the effort to sinew again... if you used hide glue all you would have to do is soak it..but even that would cause more degrading of the early wood... my 2c... just build another... gut

[ajbruggink]

quarter sawn ?..appears to be early wood degrading... in all honesty... Id just start a new bow if it is just a board of red oak... certainly not worth the effort to sinew again... if you used hide glue all you would have to do is soak it..but even that would cause more degrading of the early wood... my 2c... just build another... gut

It is bias-ringed. The pictures shows the belly of the stave.

[ajbruggink]

I did scrape some wood from the stave and the wood shavings felt like normal but the dark spots did not go away. I'm thinking they go deep in the stave. The wood doesn't feel crumbly or softer than it did when it was not stored in the basement but it did feel cold, not like it did when I bought it as a 6ft 1x2 or the wood that I store under my bed. After I discovered that the dark spots go pretty deep, I decided to junk this stave. I learned some lessons from this and I hope any newcomers to this hobby who read this post learned from it as well. Once again, thank you for your advice.

Aaron

[Pat B]

Proper wood storage is paramount in bow building. It doesn't take much for fungi to do it's work, reducing viable wood to nothing.

[Hamish]

Looks like surface mould in the glue residue. I doubt it would have effected the timber, but you are still taking a risk, especially if you want to reinvest time and materials in sinewing again.