New to Burl question

[L32]

I just got this burl from a friends dead Elm Tree. I dont want to ruin it so, short of cutting it up into blanks is there anything I should know or do to it before use. The tree was cut about a year ago so I believe it to be dry. In the background is a nice piece of twisted Lilac..could be interesting!

 

[Jim Boyd]

Can't help you with the cutting but I would wager that it is not completely dry. Send it to me and I'll test it for ya[]

 

[L32]

Thanks Jim, for the response. Do you think I should allow it to dry further is it's still wet or should i cut it up and allow it to dry. if i do the later, will there be a problem with checking and warping?

 

[BigRob777]

Bob,
Dario knows a lot more than I do about burls, but as I've been cutting them up lately for a special, I'll chime in. The first thing you should know, is that wood dries 1" per year. That will take forever to dry. I cut mine up thick, in say 1" thick slabs, then let it dry out. The slabs may take a bit longer to dry, but it will reduce the checking and especially the warping. I lost some nice burl by cutting it into pen blanks right away and had to start all over.
Secondly, make sure that the burl isn't too soft. If it is, you can still get it stabilized, if it isn't too far gone. I have a maple burl that is wormy and spalted, that I am getting stabilized (the nonwormy parts).I hope this helps. When you get yours ready, let me know and maybe we can do some trading.

Seriously, you might want to send Dario an e-mail. He's the burl man, IMHO.

Semper Fidelis, from a <b>formerly</b> lean former Marine
Rob

 

[Dario]

I am not an expert either though I've worked with burls quite a bit. Rob nailed it already anyway. My rule is...cut it to thickness you will eventually need it to asap. If these are to be pen blanks , then cut them to 7/8" to 1" slabs as Rob said. Depending on wood type, it may twist and warp so add an allowance for those. The worst I've tried is madrone....it shrink, twist, warp and crack like crazy!

If you will just deal with these pieces, you can cut it shorter and and try microwave drying (lots of dicussion here on that if you do a search).

Sealing your wood will help a lot to reduce wood loss due to checking/cracking. Unlike regular wood, burl don't have grain orientation which means it has endgrain at all sides. Some advocate not sealing burl because of the twisted and interlocking grain etc...let me tell you from experience that is NOT the case. Sealing green wood is a good and cheap insurance (helps and works but not fool proof).

Good luck!!!

 

[BigRob777]

This is what can happen if you cut the blanks to finished size too soon. Eucalyptus Burl:

<br />
Rob

 

[Fangar]

I really like french fries too Rob...[]

Fangar

 

[BigRob777]

Fangar,
Dig in. I hope you have strong teeth.[] I'm actually going to turn a pen with this wood.

Bob,
It looks like you got some solid advise. Have fun with it. Some dry their burls in dry sawdust. I'm going to try that with some of my cherry burl this weekend. I also sometimes use a food dehydrator. It gets rather hot, but not like an oven.
Rob

 

[guts]

Bob,can't help with the burl but,Semper Fi.Once always & forever

 

[L32]

Thanks for the input... The saw is running[}]

 

[woodwish]

Big Rob, glad it's not just me. One of my good friends lost a 8-10" diameter Eucalyptus tree in a hurricane two years ago. Thought I would be a nice guy and take some of the trunk to turn into something for them. Some of it I cut into pen blanks but at the time I was getting swamped with wood to turn (that's the problem with hurricanes, too much wood up for grabs at one time). Went back later to look at the pen blanks and they were all so twisted and warped I never made anything with them, plus it's hard a brick once it dried.