Sectioning a Burl

Isley

Isley

Joined
Feb 26, 2016
Messages
65
Hello all,
I was gifted a large Alaskan birch burl I was hoping to section up for some scales and hidden tangs. I plan on letting it cure over winter in my garage (temp controlled) until at least spring. If anyone has suggestions on additional steps required to cure it, how long to cure it, and how I might go about sectioning this burl to put it to use please let me know. I was really excited to get a big raw one (twss)and I'd like to see it on some blades. Its roughly 2.5' at its widest, pictures are below. Thank you.
IMG_20180918_151856698.jpg IMG_20180918_151916962.jpg IMG_20180918_151940899.jpg
 
My first suggestion is to change your plans. That will take a couple years to properly cure … or it will crack and split when cut up.

There are many great threads about this in Shop Talk. Use the custom search engine in the Stickys to find them. Here are a few:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/cutting-a-burl-into-knife-handle-blocks-step-by-step.696830/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/harvesting-drying-burl.844154/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/how-to-cut-process-a-spalted-maple-burl.1061060/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads....bladeforums.com/threads/cutting-burl.722320/

If you have any doubts, ask them before cutting anything up. Mark, at Burl Source, is very friendly and helpful. He will answer an email or phone call.
 
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Thanks, I thought it might take considerably longer. I'll look into those threads.
 
Thanks, I'll definitely keep you in mind when I make another materials order.
 
I'll put in my 2 cents based on my experience with big leaf maple burls AND I'm on the western slopes of Mt Rainier in Washington.

I just cut up another burl about 3 1/2 ' at it's widest and I cut it into horizontal slices 6-7" wide. That allows me to orient my blocks so that I can then cut 2 1/2"-3" back from the circumference and section into 1 1/4" blocks back towards the center of the where the burl attached to the tree. On the wet side of Washington, I can get away with cutting into slices, because it's humid enough that they won't really start to dry until next May-June and I haven't gotten any checking or cracking so far dong it this way.

I'm not saying this is what you should do, just what I do for where I live.
 
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i see those on trees everywhere where i deer hunt.
I hope those look great when you cut into them.
 
I've been a wood turner for 30-ish years, and cut up a LOT of green wood (and burls). Look for a product called Anchorseal: https://uccoatings.com/products/anchorseal-2-2/

They market it as an "end grain" sealer. I coat everything with it. For example, if I rough out a 20 inch diameter wood bowl, I'll leave the walls about 2 inches thick, coat it with anchorseal, then stack it in a corner and forget about it for a year or 2 while the moisture SLOWLY and EVENLY evaporates out. When I decide to chuck it back up & finish it, it's bone dry all the way through and pretty much done shrinking and moving. Using this process, I have a less than 5% failure rate from cracking.

In your situation, I would section the burl into 3-4 inch thick slabs, coat everything with anchorseal, "stick it" (stack the slabs back up with 3/4'' X 3/4'' boards between them) somewhere dry and out of the way, then forget about them for a good long while. The rule of thumb is it takes about 1 year per inch of thickness for wood to naturally dry to a stable moisture content.

Alternatively, if you don't want to wait that long, you can search for a specialty wood manufacturer close by that has a kiln. They can speed up the drying process with heat (which also makes the wood structurally stronger).
 
Thanks all. I guess I'll just settle in and test my patience. Maybe I'll just use it to hold my coffee thermos for a good long while.
 
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