Another burl hunt -mon cheery

[marekz]

Hello yall, well in this hot weather ,I went into the woods. I found 4 cherry burls about the size of the one in the picture except only one of the 4 burls is on a rotting tree. This one seems fairly hard to the knock except for a small part which seems soft. Hopefully it will yield something. I had to roll it to a small side/hunting road-which i luckily found. This thing is too heavy to pick up. It took alot of effort to get into the vehicle.Man i was soaked from the heat,--Thanks for looking--Mark

 

[grlangr]

Those look really big Mark! I don't know much about burl as far as hardness, can it be stabilised somehow before it's cut up?

 

[BChou-E29]

Nice score! Cherry burl is beautiful once it darkens. The only burl I've seen around where I live is the massive lump in my neighbor's box alder tree

 

[marekz]

Those look really big Mark! I don't know much about burl as far as hardness, can it be stabilised somehow before it's cut up?

Hello, acrylic infusion on a burl is territory that i have yet to fully explore. I guess in the realm of possibilities - with a sound dry piece, it may be possible,however, in my opinion it would not be wise to invest in stabilizing something when you do not know its structural integrity. That burl may be full of ant tunnel,termites, low figure, and or checks and voids spaced out perfectly so as to get maybe a 3" size knife block. -Who knows. If it were possible at all, i dont feel it would be cost effecitive. I could see a bowl turner turning it and then having it acyrlically infused or a person cutting out blocks ( even in individual cut blocks- you need to make sure there isnt any questionable deep voids or checks. So my answer would have to be-- most likely--NO. I will research it some more and give you a conclusive answer. Thanks for the good question--Mark

 

[Larry D. Davis]

Hello, acrylic infusion on a burl is territory that i have yet to fully explore. I guess in the realm of possibilities - with a sound dry piece, it may be possible,however, in my opinion it would not be wise to invest in stabilizing something when you do not know its structural integrity. That burl may be full of ant tunnel,termites, low figure, and or checks and voids spaced out perfectly so as to get maybe a 3" size knife block. -Who knows. If it were possible at all, i dont feel it would be cost effecitive. I could see a bowl turner turning it and then having it acyrlically infused or a person cutting out blocks ( even in individual cut blocks- you need to make sure there isnt any questionable deep voids or checks. So my answer would have to be-- most likely--NO. I will research it some more and give you a conclusive answer. Thanks for the good question--Mark

That sir, is a very well articulated, thought out, dead on conclusive reply.

Is it true burl or bunyan? Bunyans have a burl shape, but do not have bud growth which causes the familiar "eye" and swirls. Wax the stem cut and wait until you have a decision on what to do with it....no cutting. Is the bark loose enough to pressure wash off? Patience, Grasshopper.

 

[marekz]

Good day yall- Well today im home from work, so i decided to look at the burl more closely. I found 4 different areas ( on opposing sides) of ant holes. I did a little digging and found them to be fairly well " imbeded ". Each " hole" has huge armies coming out to kick arshe. At first i saw the larvae and thought it might be termites ( the larvae was moving- but not on their own) but then out came the black antz-some with wings.. I have a feeling this burl is just another giant ant colony.
Larry- i wish i had waxed the stems on the prior burl ( which seemed very sound/ and yet it to had a very small ant colony) and left it out to dry. The bark on this one has spots where i can knock off easy- the rest of it could use a good pressure washing ( im borrowing a pressure washer from a friend). I waxed the ends .I wondering if its even worth it( ants are flooding out of it on all sides).--Thank you--Mark

 

[Larry D. Davis]

Termites fly, but not the white subterranean kind. Maybe not something to have around the house and buildings.