Anyone ever use Catalpa Burl?

T

Tkrocky

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Sep 6, 2013
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I haven't ever seen it, but I got some off a wood turner and it is extremely highly figured. Just wondered if anyone has ever seen it used or if it is worth drying. I would have it stabilized by K&g.


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Catalpa is an interesting wood. It's very rot resistant, so traditionally used for fence posts. It's pretty soft, but if stabilized would probably be fine. I've never seen catalpa burl. Do you have any pictures?
 
Yeah I will grab one and post it up, in the next little bit


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I have turned Catalpa wood on the lathe. Your burl should work well for a knife handle after it is stabilized.
 
Hey! Looked it up in a few of my books. The wood is high in oils, but has a very open grain structure.

Over all I predict those two factors to cancel out and give you a good stabalized product. Like buckeye burl, it has a sponge like structure than can really suck up the compound. That should be enough to counteract any latent oils "not many types of oil listed in the book" So I expect it to act somewhat like buckeye, a bit stronger though.
 
Greenberg Woods said:
Hey! Looked it up in a few of my books. The wood is high in oils, but has a very open grain structure.

Over all I predict those two factors to cancel out and give you a good stabalized product. Like buckeye burl, it has a sponge like structure than can really suck up the compound. That should be enough to counteract any latent oils "not many types of oil listed in the book" So I expect it to act somewhat like buckeye, a bit stronger though.
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Hey thanks for chiming in! It may be a while before I send it in though
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It looks good! I've been looking at getting different unique types of woods.

Hey Greenberg, what are some of the books you have (sorry for the hijack)?
 
Tkrocky said:
Hey thanks for chiming in! It may be a while before I send it in though
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Yah, that is a little bit wet yet isn't it....more water than wood! If you can keep that from checking you are going to have some beautiful handles. Have you already cut it into smaller blocks? Maybe Greenberg or BurlSource can wade in on the best way to keep them from cracking. I usually paint the ends of logs I want to dry or cut it into thick 1" or 2" thick planks and paint the ends and then let it dry for a year or two before cutting into smaller thinner pieces for flutes...or now knife handles. I have a maple stump with some nice burls on it that I plan to cut up this summer. I was thinking of cutting the burls off and painting the exposed faces. But I was also thinking it might be wise to ask here about the best way to prep the burls so they are least likely to check.
 
With burl, its always tricky. I do a light coat of wax over the whole thing for 8-10 months, then strip most of the wax "I use a razor blade" and let sit another year or so.
 
Wood working stores sell a product called anchorseal. It is a thick liquid wax emulsion that I have used to paint on wood so it will dry slowly and not crack. If you do notice any cracks fill the crack with superglue to keep it from further cracking.
 
Beautiful stuff to be sure--does it have to dry some before it is stabilizeable ? Is that not a word?? Anyway, can he go ahead and stabilize it now?
 
K&G recommends less than 9% moisture when stabilizing. 56% is really high. I doubt it would end well if he tried to stabilize now.


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Yeah k&g won't even do it unless it is less then 9%. I think anchorseal is probably the way to go.


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Catalpa burl is lovely but it is light and easy to damage. I would suggest stabilizing it once dry. Don't rush it when drying, I dried a burl of it and even waxed it checked like crazy. That one burl is my sole experience with catalpa.
 
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