Thuya Burl Question

Sean O'Hare

Sean O'Hare

Joined
Jul 24, 2003
Messages
1,183
I bought a couple of blocks of stabilized thuya burl from a professional wood stabilizing shop. When I cut it in half the inside is kind of gummy. Is this normal? I've never worked with thuya burl before and am wondering if this is okay to continue with or not.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Sean
 
:) I sent some Thuya Burl to WSSI, Mike advised that since Thuya Burl is so dense they have to run it through several times, and that there may be some run off of the stabilizing agent. He advised me to let the wood sit for a while before using it. I haven't cut into any yet. Don't know if that may be the case with your wood.
 
Wrap it loosely in tinfoil, and bake it in the oven for an hour or so, at about 200 degrees. That's what I was told to do once, by Mike, when I got a wood block back that was sticky.
The tinfoil is to contain any stabilizing material that might leak out. Your wife wouldn't like it if it went on the hot oven bottom, and it took on an acrylic smell, forever.:eek: ;)

It worked, but caused some slight surface checking that I just filled with super glue, and sanded. You couldn't even see it then.

Yours might not do that at all.
 
Thanks everyone.

The outside of the piece was completely fine. I've let it sit since cutting it and the stickiness inside is subsiding. There is a very strong smell of the chemical used to stabilize it. I will probably let it sit for a few days before epoxying it to the knife. I've had the piece for many months now so it should be okay from the sounds of it.

Thanks again,
Sean
 
Thuya is a naturally oily wood but I'd argue that it is not stable in it's natural state. It will dry, shrink, crack and pit. If it's been professionally stabilized, it probably is relatively sound but the word 'professional' is open to interpretation. Just because someone has a vacuum chamber, a drum of MMA and a bottle of VASO does not mean he is a professional. I have used four different "professional' stabilizers. They all use the same basic process but there are only two I would go back to. Knife and Gun turns out a quality product, but they don't seem interested in working with you on a special problem. (Like Thuya). Mike at WSSI is unquestionably the best technically, but more important, he will work with you. He goes the extra mile for customer service. If it's questionable, he'll tell you so but if you are willing to take the risk, he'll give you good advice. Some of the Thuya he has done for me - properly prepped before I send it to him - has been facing a commercial dishwasher several times a day for three years.


I'll keep this positive and just mention the ones I've been happy with. By the way, if all you are doing is straight, dry maple - anybody can get it done right.

Rob!
 
Also do not expect a high sheen if finishing in a classic maner. As stated above it is naturally oily and it will load tooling (belts, files, and such) quickly. My limited experience with this wonderful and beautiful wood, even stabilized, does not resist swelling if submerged much in water. I do not, therefore, recommend it for kitchen use - forgetting it is not good for ingestion either.

RL
 
I guess in my opinion, I would not stabilize it at all. The stuff is fantastic. Like has been said, it takes a beautiful finish. Plus I would not want to do anything to ruin the great smell of it.

But that is me. :(
 
The company that did the stabilizing was WSSI. I just didn't mention the name because I wanted to first see if what I was seeing was normal for this wood even stabilized or if I should contact them about a problem. Sounds like what I'm seeing is normal for Thuya Burl.

Thanks for the comments about the finish I will keep the belts as clean as possible and see how it turns out.

I agree the smell of natural woods are great. The strong chemical smell of some stabilized woods can drive ya right out of the shop some days! I still feel at least for my work that I need to use it.

Thanks again,
Sean
 
Do you guys think you can keep Thuya un-stabilized if you oil it with mineral oil once in a while?
 
Hey Sean-


Mike Ludeman at WSSI is the best! I completely agree with Rob!

Whenever in doubt, just ask Mike!


Also, if it's natural stuff, I VERY rarely use it if it hasn't been stabilized...with very FEW exceptions. It's just one more thing you can utilize to make sure your knives will stand-up to use and last :D

BTW- I replied to an email you sent me recently and it was returned. Thanks for your input!

-Nick-

http://www.wheelerknives.com
 
Well no issue with me using this block. While drilling the last hole on the first side the drill bit grabbed the piece and ate the hole a bit. So my 5/32" hole became a very oval and definitely not 5/32" waste of time!!! :mad:

So this knife now has the runner up piece which was Stabilized Buckeye Burl.

Ya I've been happy with WSSI, just wanted to see what was "normal" for Thuya Burl before calling them and potentially wasting there time.

Nick - I'll have to look into what happened with the email. I have some spam filtering setup on the server that hosts my website as I was getting a ridiculous amount of crap for a while there. Maybe this is what caused the problem.


Take Care,
Sean
 
I have 10 year old thuya handled knives that have never been treated and have never cracked. I also have slabbed out pieces that have been on my shelf for 5 years that still are wet with resin inside.
 
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