All burled up and no place to turn

Re: All burled up and no place to turn

Shawn - in ID

>Forgot to mention - nearest clubs are 2.5-3 hours away. Don't know of anyone nearby with a large lathe.

Re: All burled up and no place to turn

Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA

>If it were me Shawn, I would save it, at least for now. I just turned some beautiful cherry burl this summer that I harvested 10 years ago. It was put in a pile and forgotten. It sure was dry, but it still cut nicely and it fetched a very nice price.

Bill

Re: All burled up and no place to turn

George Van

>Bill, do you think the same would hold true for maple and birch?

Thanks, Geogre

Re: All burled up and no place to turn

Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA

>Hi George

As long as it is a burl, yes. I have a piece of maple burl that I know for a fact was cut in the summer of 1995. I was helping a guy out who needed my truck, my chainsaw, and my strong back, and then did not want to give me any of the wood! After working for over three hours I told him I was taking half. He got so mad at me he left it all at my house and never came to pick any up! This piece sat in a pile for years. I moved it to the shop two or three years ago and it has been sitting there ever since, waiting for me to decide what to do with it.

Sometimes a burl inspires me right away, and I turn it while it is still wet. Others last a long time before I get to them. I have not really had much trouble with them cracking except when one has been left in harsh weather or sunlight, which rarely happens. When I do cut them up, I save the scraps for burl desk clocks.

Bill

Re: All burled up and no place to turn

Bill Hale, Woodspinner

>Sounds like we all agree, SAVE IT.

I have a walnut burl that I have had for at least 5 years. I is about 36 Dia 8 thick. I plan to turn it this winter.

Patience is not known to be one of turners attributes. But be patient.

Good turning and be safe

Bill

How about some Water Oak

John Crissman

>Hey Bill,

My brother-in-law sent me a small water oak burl (10-12"). It has a fai amount of bark inclusion in the middle and I am thinking it may be best as a small projects source (a box, a couple pens and few bottle stoppers. Can you give me some advice to proceed?

I have never worked with burl before.

Thanks,

John

Re: All burled up and no place to turn

George Van

>Thanks Bill, sounds like a guy you don�t need to help too often!

I�m glad to hear the burls can wait, I have three that are each a couple of hundred pounds and would like my skills to improve before I tackle them.

We have Trent Bosch coming to our AAW meeting for demo and classes. I was lucky enough to get a class session in three weeks and am looking forward to my first professional lesson.

George

Re: All burled up and no place to turn

Jim Rutten

>I was in your exact position a couple of years ago and chose to turn the burl. Did just what I was taught in class (glued it to waste block and turned a little bowl for my wife to put her bracelets in. Had it all turned, sanded and finished parted off the outside ring of glue and tried to "pop" it off with a parting tool. As you can probably guess part of the botton stayed on the waste block. Although I didn't turn through the bottom it was less than 1/16th of an inch thick. My wife didn't miss a beat though. She put it on a table and put a crsytal ball-type object on it. It looks like they were made for each other. Therefore, my vote is don't turn it yet.

Thanks guys

Shawn - in ID

>I'll wait 'till I get that bigger lathe.

All the best

Re: How about some Water Oak

Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA

>Hi John

It all depends on how much inclusion is there, and how well you think it can hold together on the lathe. It sounds like it might be a very nice candidate for a winged bowl, but again, the size and condition of the inclusion makes or breaks it (literally!). Can you post some pictures of the piece?

Bill