How do you peel bark from burls?

E

Eriksen

Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
180
I´ve heard that it´s possible to boil it away. Is that true, and can it be done in a large pressure cooker?

Are there anybody here with experience who can describe the process?
 
What I found that worked best for me was a chainsaw screw driver for tightening chains and just popping off the bark in chunks. It was sharp enough to get under the bark, not too sharp to dig into the burl, and the hex nut end made a perfect T-grip for my hand.
It might not have been the fastest method, but I've always like having hands-on opposed to hands-off when working with wood and natural materials.
 
I've seen a couple people on youtube use a pressure washer...Thing is, if you want it dry you are just soaking it one more time and it is that much more moisture to get out. I just let it dry for a month or two and then use a screw drive to pick it off. It tends to come off in chunks then and has partly separated from the wood.
 
Randydb said:
... if you want it dry you are just soaking it... just let it dry for a month or two and then use a screw drive to pick it off. It tends to come off in chunks then and has partly separated from the wood.
Click to expand...
Thanks Randy, I could/should have added this to my post.
 
Wire brush on an angle grinder works, but you lose a little wood if you're not careful, and you'll still need to go back with a more detail oriented tool...
 
I have a pile of wood under my deck...of interesting wood/burls that I find and toss there. About every 4 months I dig around for an hour or so, get rid of some bark, cut some pieces into more useable sizes and toss the pieces that aren't what I thought they were. My wife tells me her and the kids are going to have a nice pile of seasoned firewood if I ever die!
 
Randydb said:
I have a pile of wood under my deck...of interesting wood/burls that I find and toss there. About every 4 months I dig around for an hour or so, get rid of some bark, cut some pieces into more useable sizes and toss the pieces that aren't what I thought they were. My wife tells me her and the kids are going to have a nice pile of seasoned firewood if I ever die!
Click to expand...
I started on the pile but is all in my small shop, I would love to have a porch.. There is two huge chunks of spalted poplar burl at my parents house together with the fire wood.. Waiting for a neighbor to cut it up with a chain saw next time I am home.
 
IIRC, Mark at Burl Source used to steam it off with a high pressure steam washer. Sort of a super pressure washer.
 
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