Support WoodCentral when buying things you need
Articles Forums Gallery Marketplace Videos

WoodCentral Forums

Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge

Find sources of lumber, veneer, wood specialties and sawmill services - see how it works

Maple Burl

Posts

Maple Burl

#1

Maple Burl

dave caudill

>A friend of mine was helping an arborist cut some trees to improve his view and told me about some interesting wood. Well he brought me a sample and it turns out its all maple burl and the fellow cutting it is not interested and the fellow who owns it is rolling it down an embankment to get rid of it. This is where I come in. I think I've got the permission to go get as much of it as I can carry away. Supposedly there is a five foot stump still there and it is all burl not to mention a log of six feet or so he rolled down the hill.

I've never turned burl before and am not sure the best method for cutting it into blanks etc. Any ideas? I did write the other day and ask about coating it and since then have ordered some Anchorseal to seal the cut faces.

This stuff is pretty neat. You pull off the bark and it has what looks like thorns sticking out of it. Quite interesting and beautiful. I'd like to turn some now but have not done any green turning and am not sure if burl would turn well green. Anyone have experience with this? I wasn't expecting this so I was caught a little off balance and have to move fast and get it all taken care of.

Any thoughts on how to cut this stuff up would be appreciated. I'll try and get some photos to post when I get to it.

Dave

Re: Maple Burl

#2

Re: Maple Burl

Mike Schwing from Maryland

>A big hearty Neanderthal "You suck!" to you pal.

Just kidding, I'm envious. I sure'd like to run into the same thing. Maple burl is wonderful, there is always lots of it for sale on ebay. Wally Dickerman who drops by here regularly turns lots and lots of it.

My experience with wet burl has been minimal but it does seem to move much less than normal grained woods as it dries. I would cut it into blanks as you'd normally cut logs but since it'll likely be missing piths, you won't have that to worry about. That said, if you find sections that have straight grain in them in addition to burl, they make neat pieces turned in oddball shapes rather than standard bowls.

There are many folks here that have much more experience than me with this subject. Hope they chime in as I'd be interested in hearing more on the subject, too.

Re: Maple Burl

#3

Re: Maple Burl

TDaniel

>Dave, if you are in driving distance of north Georgia I'll come and help you (for a piece of the pie). There are many ways to turn maple burls so go for a variety. Leave the logs as long as you can handle them and anchorseal the ends. Depending on the diameter of the logs and how deep the roots of the burls go as well as the capacity of your lathe, you might want to cut some into quarters for turning natural edge urns. If the logs are 20" or more in diameter I get the most dollars from them by doing this. If the logs are smaller than 20" + or -; either split them in halves or leave whole for end-grain turning. Again, go for a variety if possible. Most of the maple that I get has burls that do not go very deep. To get maximum yield put the burls to the top of your vessels and the pith to the bottom.

TD

Re: Maple Burl

#4

Re: Maple Burl

William R. Duffield on the Cohansey

>I've got a real strong suspicion that what Dave has is bigleaf maple, Acer macrophyllum, and I'm sure it isn't anywhere near GA, or near the Cohansey either :^(

If he's lucky, what isn't burl is probably curly or even quilted. In any case, it's a great find, unless it's full of beetles.

Re: Maple Burl

#5

Re: Maple Burl

dave caudill

>Not too close to Georgia by my way of thinking. Although I wouldn't mind the help. So far the wood I've gotten is beautful. No bugs, no rot and very solid. I haven't seen the stump yet but my friend said my 20" blade would not cut all of the way through the stump. Since I haven't the means to turn it all now I'll likely keep it as large as possible until I can get to it.

I appreciate all of the good suggestions as I really haven't a clue as to how to cut it up and best ways of turning it. There is a local turning group I should probably get in touch with and see who has experience with it.

And yes William it is Big Leaf Maple. We have an amazing abundance of it here and it is really a nice wood to turn even just the plain Jane stuff.

Thanks you guys.

Dave

👍 This page answered my questions

Your vote helps other woodworkers quickly find the answers and techniques that actually work in the shop.