Maple Burl question

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I have recently came into possession of Maple Burl. I've never seen any like this. I'm going to send some off to k&g shortly and was wondering if I should dye this stuff. I've never had any wood dyed. I like natural colors so usually just have them stabilized clear. I'm curious if any of you can weigh in on this and tell me what should be dyed/not dyed. And what to expect.
Should I have this stuff done in a brown? Let me know please.
Thank you.
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I have made some native american flutes and a coffee table out of maple burl. It is amazing with just an oil or clear solvent based poly on it. The bit of amber in the finish makes it look amazing.

When I look at some of the dye jobs KandG has on their site I bet this stuff would look great like that too. Personally seeing as you have so much I would try a bit of it dyed but keep some just natural.

Randy
 
Randydb said:
I have made some native american flutes and a coffee table out of maple burl. It is amazing with just an oil or clear solvent based poly on it. The bit of amber in the finish makes it look amazing.

When I look at some of the dye jobs KandG has on their site I bet this stuff would look great like that too. Personally seeing as you have so much I would try a bit of it dyed but keep some just natural.

Randy
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Thank you for the suggestion. I've never seen maple Burl with the 2 tones, all of it I have seen has been close to a whitish cream and eyes in it. This stuff is a lot different. Definitely unique and cool.
 
With spalting like that it will look cool stabilized clear.
But.......a lot of the orange-ish areas will resist the dye to varying degrees resulting in a dye job that looks kind of like tie-dye.
If it were me, I would get half of them dyed black and the others dyed blue. If you do, be prepared because they are going to be really wild looking.
 
Burl Source said:
With spalting like that it will look cool stabilized clear.
But.......a lot of the orange-ish areas will resist the dye to varying degrees resulting in a dye job that looks kind of like tie-dye.
If it were me, I would get half of them dyed black and the others dyed blue. If you do, be prepared because they are going to be really wild looking.
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I'm not really into the blue look. I will consider it though, would black and brown both do well? I'm just trying to do something that I will like and want to use.

Mark, you would suggest dying them all? I have no qualms with that, I just don't really know what to expect. I often see your wood, but it's post dying. Not before it gets dyed. Know what I mean?
 
Sorry to say that's not spalting, but rot in the big photo. You can see how far the rot has gone by the ripped fiber which looks granular. If you can scrape bits off rubbing and digging with fingernail it won't stabilize well. Sometimes wood is just to far gone to be of value. Spalting is the insipient stage of decay and rot is when the wood fiber goes soft.
 
Larry D. Davis said:
Sorry to say that's not spalting, but rot in the big photo. You can see how far the rot has gone by the ripped fiber which looks granular. If you can scrape bits off rubbing and digging with fingernail it won't stabilize well. Sometimes wood is just to far gone to be of value. Spalting is the insipient stage of decay and rot is when the wood fiber goes soft.
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Aww man... Well, I just got out a couple pieces to mess with. I was scratching it with my nail and I wasn't getting it to rip out or anything. It seems to be just as hard as the unstabilized box elder Burl I have here. I'm hoping its at that point right before it's too rotten? Could that be a possibility?
 
If it won't crumble or flake off you might be just fine. Reason is the process does not glue bits together so they crumble after processing as well. That's beautiful stuff and my taste is leave natural. Good luck with it and post pics when it comes back.
 
That looks like root burl.

When wood is dead and lays on the ground, or is a root and already in the ground, bacteria and fungus attack the fibers. They eat their way along the softer layers and make punky spots. Some fungus leaves behind a color that is called spalt. Others just leave behind soft and porous wood. Burl wood is particularly vulnerable because it already has hard and soft areas. As long as the wood is fairly solid and won't crumble, stabilizing will normally save it.

The degree of decomposition is not too bad yet on those pieces you have from what I see.. Getting them stabilized by K&G will make them usable. I would go with black and brown dye. Another color that looks good is red.
 
The advanced decay in those blocks is white rot...........not spalt. Bacteria has nothing to do with fiber decay, but can give you anthrax.
 
Larry made a good point.
If the white areas are crumbly they will not stabilize well but remain weak and porous.
There is a fine line between what will work and what is too far gone.
If it were me, I would take the gamble with any that did not seem weak and crumbly.
If you keep any natural color just pick which ones you like the look of now. Bear in mind they will probably end up orange and gold after stabilized.
 
Burl Source said:
Larry made a good point.
If the white areas are crumbly they will not stabilize well but remain weak and porous.
There is a fine line between what will work and what is too far gone.
If it were me, I would take the gamble with any that did not seem weak and crumbly.
If you keep any natural color just pick which ones you like the look of now. Bear in mind they will probably end up orange and gold after stabilized.
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They all do seem 'solid' I know it's quite relative once you get into this type of material. I am thinking I'll do half brown and half black and see what happens.
I do have a question though, when I send it in for dying should I write on them all what colors I want and tape them together or what? There website is quite uninformative when it comes to how to prepare your product and labeling.
Usually I just send in the entire box and write clear on my item list.


Thank you for all of your insight, all of you. Y'all are the best.
 
From the K&G website:


What to know before sending your wood to be stabilized.

The most important thing to know before sending your wood/material to us is to check the moisture of your wood/material. We will not stabilize pieces of wood/material with over 9% moisture. Moisture in your wood/material may cause it to twist or warp while it is in the curing process. We will assume your wood/material is safe to stabilize when we receive it. If you are unable to check the moisture, please let us know and we can check it for you. We can dry your wood/material for a small handling fee depending on quantity.

It is always best to include an inventory sheet with the type of wood/material and the amount so we can verify this on arrival. If there is a discrepancy from your invoice to our count we will contact you so that you may contact your shipping contractor for any claim.

When sending a large variety of pieces it is best to write on each piece the type of wood it is to ensure it is stabilized in the appropriate solution. This can be done with a pencil, no markers, it may discolor your wood/material. If you have a preference for a specific solution for each of your pieces, please indicate this on your invoice.
 
I'd get some dyed. You wont regret it. Heres blue & brown maple burl. I want to try red and green next time.

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