Burl?

[mullet]

 Fruit cocktail, maybe?

[Hillbilly]

 

[ZanderPommo]

I just made a pen out of ambonya burl, I bought the blank for 5 bucks, its 7/8'' square and 5'' long
I've been known to buy Honduran Rosewood burl for over 7 bucks a blank, depending on the quality
just don't tell my dad I spent that much money on a little piece of wood

[stickbender]

     Dang Grunt!  Was she inside that burl all that time?  You got any more of those burls?   Got any Oriental burls?
Man now that is a Burl!   and Bowl !!   What kind of tree was that?


                                                                         Wayne

[Grunt]

The burl was from a Yellow Birch tree up on Grandfather Mountain and when I got it it weighed 3500 lbs. The title of this piece is Grandfather Bowl. It was a commission that I did several years ago as a gift from one rich guy to another rich guy. It took me about a year to complete.

[stickbender]

     Coool !!   Well I sure hope you emptied the bowl before you delivered it!

                                                                   Wayne

[jthompson1995]

I just made a pen out of ambonya burl, I bought the blank for 5 bucks, its 7/8'' square and 5'' long
I've been known to buy Honduran Rosewood burl for over 7 bucks a blank, depending on the quality
just don't tell my dad I spent that much money on a little piece of wood

Amboyna and HRB are cheap compared to Cocobolo burl. I bought 1 blank (7/8" sq by 5") for $28. I still haven't made a pen from it yet (I'm kinda scared to mess it up). Not to mention real Zi'tan and Huanghuali which can go for $75 to $100 for a single blank of that size.

[jturner]

Is it best to cut them green or let them dry first? I have some that I would like to cut up but ive been putting it off til i figured out the best way to cut them without ruining them.

[jthompson1995]

It will take a long time for them to dry if they are large unless you cut them up. I would suggest cutting it into slabs between 1 and 2 inches thick (or thicker if you need larger pieces) and sealing them all around with wax or green wood selaer (Anchorseal is one brand). You need to seal burls allaround because the swirling grain makes them more prone to crack anywhere, not just on the end grain.

You need to make sure you dry them slowly as burls are prone to twisting and cracking if dried too fast. Make sure to cut the pieces a little thicker than you need to allow for some wood loss due to shrinkage and twisting/cracking.