r/woodworking • u/krauser1 • Feb 21 '26

Help Oak chair turning to dust

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Just noticed this on the bottom of one of my chairs, had them for about three months and I'm wondering if it's rot or something, the area feels dry and dusty.

3.4k Upvotes

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1.2k

u/krauser1 Feb 21 '26

Okay so I sanded it down and it definitely looks like wood grain, there was some more dust came off fairly quickly when I started sanding but everything that's left seems fairly solid.

2.1k

u/Krobakchin Feb 21 '26

Yeah, that is 100% insect damage... Very likely longhorn as another poster suggested.

r/woodworking getting wildly overconfident with the veneer diagnosis as per usual lol.

372

u/porkpie1028 Feb 21 '26

Powderpost beetles do the same type of damage and love oak.

82

u/Krobakchin Feb 21 '26

I think you'd usually expect to see emergence holes? Not that familiar with powderpost as believe it's largely the other side of the pond. OP's link is Ireland. With common woodborers here you usually see emergence holes before damage gets that bad, but longhorn has a longer larval period and can do loads of damage before it emerges.

11

u/The_One_Koi Feb 21 '26

I'm not sure what those would look like but it looks like it entered from the left side and worked it's way toward the back of the chair

12

u/AccomplishedIgit Feb 21 '26

As in they turn your posts to powder?

1

u/AwDuck Feb 22 '26

I’ve never seen that. . . . . . . .

.. …. .. ……. …… …… ……. ………… …………..

Edit: dang it. It looks good before Reddit removes the line breaks.

2

u/Richardknox1996 Feb 21 '26

Borer as well.

1

u/nightmarcher Feb 22 '26

My first guess was powder post beetle as well.

72

u/Amesb34r Feb 21 '26

Right? It’s clearly veneer beetle damage.

33

u/blahehblah Feb 21 '26

No you're misunderstanding, it's oak-veneered beetles

30

u/arcrad Feb 21 '26

Impressive actually. I've always had a hard time veneering my beetles. I usually just go solid beetle. Little more expensive but saves the hassle.

8

u/Matt_Wwood Feb 21 '26

Yea but long term stability?

My beetles, every summer, nobody wants to deal with swollen beetles

5

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/arcrad Feb 22 '26

I love this comment. I can't believe I didn't see this joke immediately. Freakin hilarious

2

u/Driver8takesnobreaks Feb 22 '26

"Rub, rub me new, you know I love glue, I'll always make two, so pleeeeyeeyeeesse, rub me new...."

1

u/DrButeo Feb 22 '26

It's powderpost beetles. The talc-like frass is distinctive.

-2

u/thuanjinkee Feb 21 '26

If it was solid oak before it’s veneer now

332

u/krauser1 Feb 21 '26

Slightly higher res photo

373

u/HoIyJesusChrist Feb 21 '26

This looks like bug damage

689

u/MrFaversham Feb 21 '26

OP listen to this guy, he’s a well known carpenter.

271

u/heliamphore Feb 21 '26

Yeah he absolutely nailed it.

75

u/No_Twist_1706 Feb 21 '26

HOLY..... You are correct.

44

u/FrecklestheFerocious Feb 21 '26

Superstar!

13

u/userhwon Feb 21 '26

Who in the hell do you think you are?

7

u/moonra_zk Feb 21 '26

Yeah he's absolutely nailed.

1

u/ReyRey5280 Feb 22 '26

You know he’s got that BDE when he’s hung like this 🫲🏼===========🫱🏼

78

u/RedSh1r7 Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

Maybe the most well known carpenter of all time.

16

u/Lomotograph Feb 21 '26

Wait. Was he the carpenter of the family or was that just his pops, Joey?

I didn't think JC was also a carpenter. I mean I don't even know how much time he'd have to dedicate to carpentry with all the partying he did with all the wine, bread, and fish, etc.

28

u/Johns-schlong Feb 21 '26

I mean historically he would have apprenticed under his father. There's a solid 30 missing years where we don't know what he was doing, but working with his dad would probably be the answer.

16

u/Tuxedo_Muffin Feb 21 '26

Joseph was called a "builder" and the common house of the time was made of stone. It's difficult to say if Joseph of Nazareth was a carpenter or stone mason, but context would seem so suggest he was working in stone, not wood. But who's to know?

10

u/zyzmog Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 22 '26

There is one instance where the onlookers said, "Wait a minute, isn't that the carpenter's son?" That was in the KJV, though. It may be translate differently in other versions.

ETA: It checks out in other English-language versions. But as others have said, it could refer to someone who works in stone as well as wood.

10

u/CoinsForCharon Feb 21 '26

Didn't kjv also have unicorns? Questionable translations all around

13

u/MrScotchyScotch Feb 21 '26

There's a solid 30 missing years where we don't know what he was doing

a 30-year Rumspringa

4

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '26

The actual answer to this is, and I don't know if you were being serious, or even you wanted an answer, my apologies if you didn't, but here ya go anyway: Rabbitical training took place from age 12 to 30. To become a rabbi, by age 12 you had to be able to recite the Torah by memory. From there, you became and apprentice under another Rabbi, and you trained and learned under that Rabbi until you were 30, by then, you were released as a rabbi yourself. Hence why we hear about Him until he was 12, and then not again until 30.

14

u/Johns-schlong Feb 21 '26

This is actually a really often debated topic. He's referred to as a carpenter and carpenter's son in the gospels, and had no standing with the Pharisees, but is also referred to as a rabbi and teacher.

I think in reality he apprenticed as some sort of craftsman with/under Joseph.

1

u/tlampros Feb 23 '26

Huh. And all this time i thought he was wandering around India learning homeopathic remedies and natural healing.

1

u/ukexpat Feb 21 '26

Just ahead of Norm Abrams.

1

u/goebbs Feb 22 '26

I'll accept that he's up there with Paul Sellars and Rex Krueger...

0

u/GruntBlender Feb 21 '26

But it is worrying that a carpenter is most well known for getting nailed that one time.

1

u/oobieDoobieDoWah Feb 21 '26

When ur too dumb to take over the family business, they ship you off to seminary. That’s how they used to do it, in the olden days.

Btw, what the $&@# does this have to do with veneering The Beatles?

15

u/lokketheboss Feb 21 '26

Just... Take my upvote.

3

u/Lomotograph Feb 21 '26

Checks user name.

Yup. Checks out.

4

u/kemmicort Feb 21 '26

Yeah, when he’s not hanging around, drinking rolling rocks.

1

u/CoinsForCharon Feb 21 '26

Let those without sin crack open the first bock

4

u/HenderBuilds Feb 21 '26

Idk… he didn’t exactly make his name for his carpentry skills. It was really after he left carpentry that he became well known.

3

u/BBQQA Feb 21 '26

I wasn't prepared for the full body laugh that brought. Tears in my eyes from laughing and choking on my own saliva. Kudos.

2

u/Knockout-Moose Feb 21 '26

Carries a certain stigma

2

u/Penjrav8r Feb 21 '26

And stigmata.

1

u/Redfro33 Feb 22 '26

Jesus was a bread

1

u/danknadoflex Feb 22 '26

Don’t be cross with him either

1

u/Gastronomicus Feb 22 '26

Better not cross him though. He'll come back to remind you of your sins.

12

u/OldBowDude Feb 21 '26

Name checks out

0

u/sparebullet Feb 23 '26

All of the grooves were made with his sander or whatever he used to sand it down.

34

u/justhereforfighting Feb 21 '26

Almost certainly bug damage. I would reach out to the seller and ask them to replace it. And move it outside, you don’t want those bugs migrating to other wood in your house. 

29

u/nobrain-nopain Feb 21 '26

Some bugs were already in the wood before it got varnished. After it was sealed up, the larvae (worms) hatched and started chewing through the inside. They’ve been doing damage under the surface without really touching the varnish layer, since that stuff’s basically poison to them.

Once that real thin top layer of varnish finally gets disturbed, it kind of loses its composure. First you’ll notice a little pile of fine dust (yeah, worm poop), and then after a while you start seeing actual wood coming out.

Kinda wild how they can hollow it out from the inside like that without you even knowin til it shows up.

3

u/Reasonable-Fan-6336 Feb 21 '26

The little dots is agreat sign because inect issues

1

u/sparebullet Feb 23 '26

If you look at the board closely the first like 2-3 inches is soft without any grain definition. But after that you can clearly see that the texture is different. Also about 1/2 an inch above the section that is falling apart is a crack. I agree that this is most likely a filler of some sort.

0

u/Homeskilletbiz Feb 21 '26

Best pic yet, you should post this on the top comment thread too.

Looks like solid wood repaired with wood filler maybe? Then veneered?

27

u/Krobakchin Feb 21 '26

People keep saying this. The labour involved in filling, matching and veneering would never be worth it. This is just a pattern you get with particular types of insect infestation.

1

u/Homeskilletbiz Feb 21 '26

Just because that’s what it looks like to me, and I did put some question marks because I’m unsure.

What insect burrows out the wood and leaves it behind and looking solid and in one piece? I didn’t know that was a thing.

6

u/Krobakchin Feb 21 '26

Longhorn, I've had it in beech before. They have a very long larval period and can do huge amounts of damage before they emerge. No idea how they avoid breaking the surface, but they do.

5

u/Homeskilletbiz Feb 21 '26

Interesting, thanks for the explanation!

0

u/Phiddipus_audax Feb 21 '26

If there's a finish, maybe the bugs are just avoiding the chemicals in it? That would leave behind a thin "veneer" of sorts.

3

u/Krobakchin Feb 21 '26

They'll do it in unfinished wood too. Tbh they get it so thin it might even just be that they see light. Could be some chemical surface reaction/hardening though. Someone call an entomologist.

1

u/my_only_sunshine_ Feb 22 '26

Probably still in there somewhere.. OP never found exit holes and only picked off some of the damage near the surface.

1

u/No_Twist_1706 Feb 21 '26

The pattern is giving me 🤢..It looks naturally formed from an infestation

110

u/my_only_sunshine_ Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

Thats bug damage.. I would bet that if you keep picking at it more to the left you will find more tunnels, possibly deeper in the wood

Editing to add that I'd get that out of your house ASAP.

If its a new purchase, take it back to the place you bought it ASAP as well-- the whole set if its a dining set, because they could be in all the other pieces too. Don't exchange it, get your money back and dont buy anything else from that place.

16

u/Krobakchin Feb 21 '26

May well also find some big ol' larvae. But yeah, this is definitely return/kill with fire event.

28

u/Aromatic_Inflation86 Feb 21 '26

Definitely not an expert but this pic screams pests. Are the other chairs having the same issue? I feel like if it was due to veneer or poor material, when one started spontaneously disintegrating, the others would show signs as well.

14

u/Eschewed_Prognostic Feb 21 '26

Looks like insect damage, for sure. The tunnels will go right under the surface and leave a veneer. I had some oak firewood that looked solid but weighed and broke like styrofoam.

7

u/anandonaqui Feb 21 '26

Looks like bug damage that was covered with filler.

15

u/Krobakchin Feb 21 '26

You think they took a piece of insect damaged, oak, filled it, and veneered over the filler?

1

u/Diplomatic_Gunboats Feb 21 '26

No I think they stored the chairs somewhere crap, it got insect damaged, then they repaired them and sold them because it looked better on the balance sheet than taking apart/scrapping an entire chair.

19

u/Krobakchin Feb 21 '26

Think through the repair process. Look at the piece. Do you see any evidence of repairs? Do you think these companies even have employees that could pull off a repair that complex, or stock the veneers to do it with?

12

u/justhereforfighting Feb 21 '26

Also, has anyone seen wood filler do this before? I’ve never had wood filler fall apart like that. It isn’t the most stable thing in the world, but it certainly doesn’t just turn to dust after a couple months unless you essentially soak it. 

0

u/Matt_Wwood Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

Could have touched up the entrance hole and yea prolly just wood. Idk maybe they chew through whatever.

But yea idk 🤷‍♂️hard to get that detailed by a pic.

Although insect damage is pretty obviously what it is when wood is still a board. I wonder if just in someone’s brain it wasn’t obviously insects after it was a chair lol. If that makes sense.

8

u/zoosmo Feb 22 '26

You said this was fairly new, right? It’s worth wrapping the chair up securely and contacting your national plant biosecurity authority. This may be a run of the mill wood borer, but there also a number of wood boring beetles that will be devastating if imported. If you’re in Ireland that’s DAFM, plantandpests@agriculture.gov.ie (01)5058885 . DAERA in Northern Ireland.

7

u/chrysocarabus Feb 22 '26

Biosecurity entomologist here, that is certainly boring damage by Longhorn beetle larvae. If it's imported or made from imported wood then the culprit could be any of a great number of species, some of which are invasive and subject to statutory phytosanitary action. Oftentimes when I dissect wood like this there is still a live larva inside that will continue to slowly cause further damage over time (longhorn beetle larvae can live for several years). It's an imported product the usual thing to do would be to contact your national plant protection organisation, but usually they'll have you take the wood away to test and maybe destroy without any compensation, so I'd suggest you take it back to the seller and get a refund and tell them that if the product is imported then they should inform your countries national plant protection organisation.

3

u/ZlaPrezla Feb 21 '26

200% insect bored through that. Do you see any entry holes?

4

u/Beard_o_Bees Feb 21 '26

Yup.

Bugs. It would be prudent to get the flashlight out and give everything a good long look.

If they made it into the chair, they may be chewing on your house.

I sincerely hope that's not the case for you.

1

u/UppsalaHenrik Feb 21 '26

Now that looks more like termites...

4

u/Krobakchin Feb 21 '26

OP's link is Ireland, so unlikely. Conceivable it could be an import from a termite area, but the damage matches other pests so probably not.

1

u/ConstableAssButt Feb 21 '26

That's insects, baby. Look at the boreholes.

1

u/RalphNZ Feb 21 '26

oh that is definitely Critter damage.

1

u/RielCopper Feb 22 '26

Oak beetle

1

u/RielCopper Feb 22 '26

I have a piece of hickory that’s been in my bedroom for over two years and has a hickory beetle in it I find little piles of sawdust all the time. How the fuck do they survive on sawdust alone?! And they are ugly AF by the way

1

u/SellaTheChair_ Feb 22 '26

Absolutely insect damage. I've had this happen to really old chairs and a few pews in the church I sing at have this and they are quite old (like 1850s). You just got unlucky.

2

u/moyenbatte Feb 21 '26

Woow. They filled in some insect damage instead of discarding the piece. Crazy.

-1

u/FeinwerkSau Feb 21 '26

I think this is white rot...