cutting a burl

E

elementfe

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May 3, 2008
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My son came home from the beach with a chunk of maple burl about the size of a big loaf of bread... does anyone know a basic outline of how to saw it to bring out the best pattern, and how to stabilize it?
I'm not even sure if the stabilizing happens with the entire chunk or slabs, or if I need to dry it first?
Thanks for any info!
Of course I want to just gnaw into it with a table saw, but thought it might be better to get SOME idea of what I'm getting into.
Andy
 
Burl source (Mark) did a thread on cutting up a big one you could search for. You gotta make sure its dry first. With a fresh burl this takes years and years. If its one that was cut a while back then who knows where its at with the drying.

Generally speaking with something like maple I will cut so that I basically shave off the little nodules that stick out every where. This will show the eyes if thats what you want. Then section it up and trim accordingly. It can be somewhat difficult to get the correct direction with just a portion of a burl because it can be hard to find a reference for orientation.

Expect to loose a lot of the burl to scrap or what not. Sometimes to get a slab of a big burl into knife size blocks can be pretty tricky. Plus sometimes the best looking direction isnt always the standard way you would cut it up.
 
Thanks, Quint!
When I figure my time, I'm sure it would make sense to just order from Mark, but playing and learning is half of why I do this stuff.
I'm guessing that it's pretty dry, having sat in a driftwood pile for some years, but not sure how that really works. Wondering if it can be stabilized as a unit or if that happens later...thanks for the lead on Mark's article, I'll dig.
Andy
 
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I can't speak for anyone else's practices but this is how I typically process wood:

  1. Fell Tree
  2. Cut tree to smaller segments
  3. Cut segments into blocks
  4. Dry blocks to under 10% Moisture
  5. Examine for Flaws
  6. Cut into final size + 20% (for warpage/shrinking)
  7. Dry as close to 0% as possible in Kiln
  8. Take directly from Kiln to Vacuum / Stabilizing agent
  9. Draw vacuum for 10-15 days until the blocks are completely saturated
  10. Place in oven to catalyze stabilizing agent

Hope this helps shade some light on the process.
 
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elementfe said:
I'm guessing that it's pretty dry, having sat in a driftwood pile for some years
Click to expand...

It will probably still need more drying after you cut it to get it under 10% , it has alot to do with the average humidity where the wood was stored at. Here in NC we average around 65% humidity so I could air dry the wood for 10 years and never get it below 12% , the wood would have to be placed in a dry indoor environment or placed in a kiln to get it under 10%
 
Having read Burlsource's excellent step by step posts, it's really clear why his prices are VERY reasonable.
It makes just as much sense to let the burl guys cut and prepare the burls as it does to let the knife guys build the knives! :rolleyes:
It's like building a house: I did it once for myself, had a great time made a great house, and I don't really need to do it again, I'd rather be in the metal shop and pay someone else.
Andy
 
elementfe said:
Thanks, Quint!
When I figure my time, I'm sure it would make sense to just order from Mark, but playing and learning is half of why I do this stuff.
I'm guessing that it's pretty dry, having sat in a driftwood pile for some years, but not sure how that really works. Wondering if it can be stabilized as a unit or if that happens later...thanks for the lead on Mark's article, I'll dig.
Andy
Click to expand...

Here is a link to a thread showing how I do it. How to cut and process a fresh burl for handle blocks

It is a bit of work but it can be kind of fun.
With an old piece like yours there is no telling what colors have developed inside.
If you decide to try it out, even though it is old it is still not dry enough yet.
You should cut it into slightly oversized blocks and keep them indoors at least a few months.
WA is pretty humid and unless you are in eastern WA the moisture content on a dry piece stored outdoors will be in the mid to upper teens.
You want the wood to be under 10% moisture.
It is best when getting wood stabilized to cut it close to size (slightly oversized blocks) instead of a large chunk.
That way you get much better results and you are not paying to stabilize what will be waste.

My suggestion is give it a try and have some fun.
 
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