Maple or Ash burls....

carnifex · Jun 10, 2000

As a friend of mine is a treesurgeon, I have gotten the opportunity to get my hands on some lumps of maple and Ash burl. How long do I need to age these, so they won't crack up on me when I use them for a knife handle???
Any info would be appreciated.

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Regards
Joshua "Kage" Calvert

"Move like Water, strike like Thunder..."

Rob! · Jun 10, 2000

Maple and ash burl will give you nothing but headaches. Just send them to me and I'll dispose of them for you.

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Rob Ridley
Ranger Original Handcrafted Knives

Phillip Jones · Jun 10, 2000

I think the standard rule to drying wood is one year per inch of thickness.
I think it will crack some. Burls are just that way. If they are good size burls you should be able to get quite a few handles.
There is a liquid called Pentacryl on the market that allows you to soak a piece of green wood in it and it will keep the wood from cracking while it dries. Sort of like stabilizing. You let it soak for a short period and then it can be can be worked like normal dry wood.

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Phillip Jones
Jones Knives
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=126319&a=926274

carnifex · Jun 10, 2000

Pentacryl, huh?
That sounds interesting enough that I wanna try it out. Where would I get this stuff, and do you have any experience with it, Phillip???
Rob, if you really want some, I can check out what he's got and maybe send you some. I am not making any promises though. I don't know what kind of quality the wood is yet.
I'll keep you posted

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Regards
Joshua "Kage" Calvert

"Move like Water, strike like Thunder..."

Gerome Weinand · Jun 10, 2000

i dont know about stuff your talking about but to keep wood (smaller pieces)from splitting i dip them in prestone then put them in a bag so they dont get to much air all at once works great

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All that is not Given Is Lost

mikeS · Jun 11, 2000

Cutting th burls into handle size pieces will help the drying process. I.E. not as much volume of wood to dry out=not as much strss on the wood. Do a search in the shop Talk archives for other drying methods. Another trick is to rub the cut pieces with vegatable oil, every day for a coupla months. Check some of the wood working sites for more info.

C L Wilkins · Jun 11, 2000

Gerome has sound advice....

You can expect some "checking" with burls, there is not that much that you can do about it. Stabilization and super glue is the ultimate answer there.

I have some piece from a beautiful mesquite burl that I cut a few a years back from a friend's ranch. This was almost dry when cut. You are not so lucky with maple. It can be cut to the "approximate" sizes you need, allowing for shrinkage and waste. I would make a wooden box of sorts and place a 60 watt light bulb in it to dry it out slowly.

One other avenue worth investigating would be to give K&G a call and talk to them about having it stabilized and just how dry it needs to be. They know a WHOLE LOT more than I do. Besides, it is not all that expensive.

Other than the wood being "stabilized" another very big plus of having this done is that you don't have to worry about finishing the wood. After it is sanded and buffed, you are done!

C Wilkins

Guy Thomas · Jun 11, 2000

Any guidelines for how to cut up the burl, or do you just attack it from any angle and see what the grain looks like?-Guy Thomas

Phillip Jones · Jun 11, 2000

I have not used the Pentacryl.
You can order it from Woodcraft. I get a catalog every month from this co., they have all types of wood working tools and supplies. I'm not sure of the address but they have a website.
As far as cutting the burls goes, just get out the old saw and go at it from different angles and then decide which angle has the best looking grain. Since the grain goes in all different directions on a burl it does not matter which way it is cut.

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Phillip Jones
Jones Knives
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=126319&a=926274

[This message has been edited by Phillip Jones (edited 06-11-2000).]

C L Wilkins · Jun 11, 2000

This is a picture of two different burls. The one on the bottom is "on its side", the top one is right. I would suggest trying to cut it in a block to see what you have. As you can see, the one on the bottom is "uneventful" but in is actually nicer looking than the one on top....

C Wilkins

[This message has been edited by C L Wilkins (edited 06-11-2000).]