burl wood

[Melvinn]

THis is a follow up from a topic I discussed several weeks ago. I have several trees with burls. BUckeye, Walnut, Maple mainly. How do I cut these trees in a manner to save the burls? Do I just cut the hole burl off or should I cut it in discs?
Thanks for any help.

[pallin]

In my opinion, you should cut in such a way as to keep some normal grain with the burl - the contrast is what highlights the burl grain. Also I think burl grain is best shown in turned work: bowls, etc. The ultimate determinant for cutting is the size. If the burl is 3 ft. across, it cannot be worked as one piece except maybe for chainsaw carving.

[Alice in Wonderland]

http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.co...lerina2007.jpg
There is one small Burl ,that is the way I cut some of mine.

[schizoidlogger]

Melvinn,

I've dealt with mostly red cedar burls for over thirty years. I find that the best use of the burl is to cut it whole from the tree. Keep it covered out of sunlight and in a cool place so that it does not dry out too fast. A whole burl gives you a lot of variety ie: bowls, carvings, tables clocks etc. If you can't get a big enough saw to cut it whole ring it with a shorter barred chainsaw and you can cut it approx. double the bar length. If it is small enough to fit in a microwave, I rough it out then put it in on defrost (never high heat) for about a minute and a half, then take it out when it's warm and put it under a blanket or towel and let it cool slowly. Repeat until it feels light and rings when you hit it with a finger (usually about twenty times if the burl is green). Only do it when the burl is roughed out because it will sometimes warp a bit.

Hope this helps you.

Url to a burl bowl that I made.


Cedar_Eagle_Bowl_1 - Wood Carving Illustrated Photo Gallery

[CarverFromNoWhere]

You could cut them and send them to me , just kidding. When I cut my burls for whatever mainly turning wood I will cut above and below the burl if possible about 6" and then cut that extra 6" into a flat spot so I can clamp it or screw it to something heavy in order to saw it into slabs. I do all this with a chainsaw and it varies by the type of burl some pictures would be helpful. Also for me right now is the time to cut I have just found an excellent Black Ash burl that weighed about 130 pounds it was a monster to bad it wasn't burl eyes all the way through but I did get some very nice choice pieces.
Carl

[schizoidlogger]

Carl,

Your stuff shows a lot of talent and creativity.

Makes sense to leave waste wood to attach to vice or lathe.

I can relate to your Ash burl story. Many years ago (when young and foolish) a friend and I found a spruce burl about 15 ft. up a tree that was over 5 ft. across. I borrowed a big Stihl with a 6 ft. bar on it from a friend and a buddy and I went after it. It was right next to a river so when we dropped it we cut two slabs off of it (weighed over 200 lbs. each) and floated them down the river to where we could reasonably (easy isn't the word) pull them out of the water. Made the mistake of storing them in a shed with a window and light got onto one of them and it warped badly. I traded it to another burl worker and he made a dining room table out of it. After it was seasoned and machined to size it was surprisingly light.

I got tired of the heavy lifting and mostly just make smaller items now.

[Alice in Wonderland]

Hi there ,I love your Cedar Bowl it must have been a large size of Cedar, was it still attached to the tree when you got it? I have never seen them this big in this part of the Country. I am happy when I get a small one lol

[schizoidlogger]

Alice,

Howdy. I worked as a logger for about 30 yrs. on northern Vancouver Island. We have a lot of big cedars here (mostly red but some yellow). The burls tend not to be bird's eye but still have a neat grain. When I was running a chain saw in the bush, burls came up from time to time on the logs yarded in and we would cut them off and take them home because they are considered waste wood. I have quite a collection now and most of them are from two to three feet across. However there isn't much demand for tables anymore, so I cut them up to make smaller bowls or carvings out of them. Ontario may have smaller burls but Maple etc. usually is bird's eye and has a real beauty to it.

I like your work and no, the eagle bowl was just about a foot or so across, not very big at all.

Thanks for your interest.
Merv