Need help cutting burl

[ttpenman]

Nor sure which section to put this in so I thought I'd try here. I need some help from those out there who use burls. I tryed asking on another turners forum but no one there thought I should "waste" a burl on pen blanks. But, I don't have the skill level to turn a small bowl or hollowform. I'm pretty sure I would have wasted the whole burl.

The only burls I have turned are pen blanks I have acquired, I have never cut a burl myself. When I was in a woodworking store a couple weeks ago, they had some chunks of burl for sale and I couldn't resist this Maple burl, plus it will fit in my bandsaw. I hope one of you guys can give me advise on how to cut a burl into pen blanks. Just point me in the right direction, especially making the first cuts. Would like to get as much out of this as I can. Hope the pictures show what you need to see. Burl is approx. 9"x11"x4.5

Thanks,

Jeff in northern Wisconsin
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[hanau]

Can't help you, but I am also interested in how to cut a burl.

 

[bensoelberg]

What tools do you have available? Do you have a table saw? Band saw? Jointer? If all you want to do is cut that into pen blanks, it seems like it would make most sense to make a couple of passes with a jointer so that you get a flat face, resaw the burl on a band saw into 3/4 - 1 inch slabs, then cut those slabs into 3/4 - inch blanks on a table saw.

 

[ttpenman]

I plan to cut them on the bandsaw. I guess I'll never learn unless I give it a try. It will be my project this weekend.

Jeff

 

[Rick_G]

That burl is relatively square so I would cut it as shown below. The two end slices are representative, I would position them so the center section was 6" long. You could likely get some short blanks by reslicing them. Slice the center section into blanks just over 3/4" wide and them flip the slices sideways and reslice into 3/4" blanks.