Cherry Burl

DanF said:
Getting into the pretty stuff now.
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Now it's getting fun and you can see yourself how the pattern changes as the direction of cut changes. Hopefully your burl is big enough so that you can focus the rest of the cuts how you want them. I was fortunate on my first burl that was ~3 feet in diameter so got to learn the best way on my first burl. (I have another 4' dia maple burl a bit further back on my property. I'm trying to figure out how to get it back to the house before cutting it down.)
 
weo said:
Now it's getting fun and you can see yourself how the pattern changes as the direction of cut changes. Hopefully your burl is big enough so that you can focus the rest of the cuts how you want them. I was fortunate on my first burl that was ~3 feet in diameter so got to learn the best way on my first burl. (I have another 4' dia maple burl a bit further back on my property. I'm trying to figure out how to get it back to the house before cutting it down.)
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Man, that will be a huge endeavor, good luck with it!
 
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In my original pic in post #1, I show the thinner pieces I had cut. They dropped to 6%MC very quickly in the instrument room I'm glad I oversized them a bit (1/2" thick),as I lost some to warpage (now 3/8" thick). The prettier stuff is faring better since it was cut much thicker and MC is dropping nicely.
 
weo said:
Now it's getting fun and you can see yourself how the pattern changes as the direction of cut changes. Hopefully your burl is big enough so that you can focus the rest of the cuts how you want them. I was fortunate on my first burl that was ~3 feet in diameter so got to learn the best way on my first burl. (I have another 4' dia maple burl a bit further back on my property. I'm trying to figure out how to get it back to the house before cutting it down.)
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I'd check craigslist and find a place that does live edge slabs with a chainsaw mill. Make a deal with him to slab out the burl for you. You keep a couple slabs and all the trimmings (use the trimmings for scales) and he gets the other slabs. Costs you nothing and you get a couple nice table tops and scale wood out of it. I have a large maple log at our cabin that I am going to do this with. I bought a 6'x4' burl slab from a guy and we got talking about the log at my cabin and a bit of trading. I also get trimmings from his mill that I use for Native American flutes, but now I am thinking I will start looking for pieces that would make nice scales. .
 
Thanks, Randy. That's an idea. However, I have a friend coming over on Friday with a tractor who is a part time arborist. I'm pretty excited both for the burl and all the firewood this tree will provide.
 
Yes, you are right Ben. I'm going to set aside the three large pieces I have left until I find someone that can bring the best out of this stuff and just gift it to them since it will be years down the road before I can use it, and by then I probably wouldn't be able to use it.
 
The first small batch I cut from this batch came back from k&g just before the holidays.
I have started one to see how this stuff works and looks. This is at a six hundred grit sand, rubbed vigorously by hand to friction deposit hand oils and then buffed with a clean, dry cloth. It has a light rose color that darkens quickly and feels like silk in the hand. The ray pattern Ben mentioned earlier is crazy nice. I'm liking this stuff.
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Now to take it down and finish all the roughed-in hardware and refine the handle shape.
 
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