Yesterday I picked up a second hand piece of steam treated pearwood, originally apparently intended for a glassblowing mold. Only to find woodworm holes on it. Complete bummer (dude), because it is the third thing I get into the house with woodworm holes. I have to get really careful now.
Coming into the class it turned out that the wood that was ordered hadn't arrived yet, so I was bound to use my beam of pear anyhow. So I sawed it into smaller pieces, still finding woodworm traces on some cuts. Coming home I decided to heat-treat the li'l critters away; so now the house is filled with the smell of baked pears, smoked wood and old pizzas. I think I actually saw the tiniest little shadows of the buggers fleeing out of the wood (if so, then they're awfully small!) -- I am as of yet unsure whether I should be relieved or even more scared. (UPDATE: I just removed a ~7mm caterpillar from my kitchen wall, just above where I just layed the wood down. Now I'm really psyched out.)
Hmmm... pearwood...
As for the other items -- if this works, I should decide whether I entrust my flute case to my little oven as well. Just too bad that the button accordion (stripped of the tongues, of course!) won't fit -- I'll probably have to call an extermination service after all.
So, as for the flute: if the worms have only eaten exactly at the finger hole positions, I will be making a pearwood flute after all. Otherwise I may have to apply some filler. In theory I have enough wood for four flutes in that little beam anyway, and if it really gets bad I wouldn't mind going for a true hardwood after all. Can't say I didn't try!
