Look what I found in the woods.

Shoki

Shoki

Joined
Apr 10, 2007
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I yanked this maple burl out of the woods the other day. The tree was barely 4 inches in diameter after the burl and only 20 or so feet tall. I don't think I've ever seen a burl so large on a tree so small. I think I'm going to try and make it into a nice kuksa but I don't know how much 'burlyness' is really in there.

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Looks promising , thanks for the pics.
 
I'm a little nervous about cutting into it. The small ends made my chop saw smoke like a cougar at a dive bar and I don't want to smoke one of my chains roughing it out with my chainsaw.
 
Really needs to age with the ends painted or waxed for a long time.
 
That isnt going to hurt your chainsaw. Cut along the length of the log not from one of the ends down.

Matt
 
Fiddleback said:
Really needs to age with the ends painted or waxed for a long time.
Click to expand...

This is sound advice. It needs to be waxed quickly or it won't be any good for anything. A year would be a good time to wait. Longer if you could stand it. Small burls like that will split all the way through in no time if not sealed.
 
Blais said:
I'm a little nervous about cutting into it. The small ends made my chop saw smoke like a cougar at a dive bar and I don't want to smoke one of my chains roughing it out with my chainsaw.
Click to expand...

Burn it out...It'll save a lot of wear and tear on your tools and your elbows and shoulders. Once you get it burned to about where you want then finish with the knife. I bet it'll make one heck of a nice khuksa, but I agree with aging it properly first if you want it to last any amount of time.

David
 
Awesome advice. I'll seal it real good when I get home from work tonight. Thanks guys.
 
So I melted some candle wax on the ends and heated them a bit so the wax would soak in a little. Do I need to seal it further or will it be ok? Also, where's the best place to let it age?
 
Let it age in a cool dry place away from the sun, but outside. Indoors tend to be dryer and can make it shrink and crack more easily. Also, letting it age outside lets it go through all 4 seasons.
 
That's gonna be gorgeous. Looking forward to next year and seeing what you come up with!
 
Alright, under the deck it goes. It's nice and dry under there and won't be messed with.
 
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