Last night I cut up about 200 pounds of burl wood.The main part of that was a huge slab of buckeye burl. I attached a photo of it before cutting it up. It is nearly 48" round, and 4" thick.
The primary thing to consider in cutting any handle block/scale is the strength and resistance to cracking . When cutting across the grain, as you have on those scales, you need to be sure that the burl grain is mixed enough to not break easily. When possible, cut with the length of the grain, and when that is not possible, cut at an angle to it. The last choice is straight across the grain. Cracking during stabilization is greatly increased by that type of cut. If that is the direction you have to go, cut the blocks large and stabilize, then cut into smaller pieces.
How to cut up burl:
OK, assuming you are working from a 3-4" thick dried slab of burl that is large enough to allow slicing it into longer strips:
Cut the slab at a tangent on one side. This cut should leave a face that is 6" long. Look at the burl. Turn the burl slab 90 degrees, and do this again. Compare the burl pattern.
If both look identical ( unlikely) you can start from either cut and slice the slab into 2" pieces. If one looks better than the other, cut along that plane. Once the slices are cut, cut them into 5-6" long blocks. This will give you a stack of 2X5-6X3-4" blocks. If the slab is really large, cut the slices 5-6" wide. This will allow you to decide the direction of the blocks. What I do with these size pieces, is cut 6X6X3-4" blocks. Then look at the sides, and decide which face to slice into 2" blocks.
If the burl or slab of burl, is smaller, you just have to work with what is there. Draw lines abound the best burl figure, and cut each individually. Wasting expensive wood hurts, but the end product is worth it.
Now, either way you cut the burl up, you have a stack of blocks. If the burl was slabbed thick enough, each block may make two or three handle blocks, or four or more sets of scales. Don't cut the smaller blocks and scales now. Set the blocks aside and allow to dry and equalize for a couple months. Then have it stabilized. I have never come across any burl that did not gain in beauty and strength by being stabilized.
Before sending the blocks off to be stabilized, look them over again.
Are there any cracks that will be a problem?
Are there bark inclusions that will cause trouble?
Voids?
Is part of a block rather boring?
Trim out any bad places. No point in paying for stabilization to just cut it off and throw it away later. Some blocks may be cut down to single handles, others may be rejected completely. Go hard on the wood, get the best stabilized, and either use the remainder for firewood, or set it aside for later review. Often a piece that is really nice will only yield a block from 2" to 4" long. Too short for a handle, but great for a handle bolster block, or a two/three piece handle. I store all the lower grade pieces in a box, and often find some interesting stuff a year after I was sure that there was little or no use for it.
If the problem is that you have too much wood - you can cull out the top tier for your own stash, you can sell the rest to help cover your expenses.
When cutting up a burl, expect some waste...often a lot of waste. That big slab I cut up last night ended up as a box full of blocks, and an equal size box full of firewood (and a bag full of sawdust). The thing to consider is that the box of blocks will yield several hundred top grade handles.
BTW, I use WSSI for all my stabilizing. Wouldn't recomend anyone else.
