- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Messages
- 7,187
Every once in a while someone will make a post asking how to dry some fresh cut burl fast so they can use it for knife handle material. There is usually talk about using a microwave or an oven which usually just ruins a good piece of wood faster.
Several years ago I was talking to Chuck Bybee of Alpha Knife Supply about drying burl to be used as knife handle material.
The subject of the difficulty in drying Madrone Burl came up and Chuck said I should try wrapping the wood in plastic pallet wrap and leaving that to sit for awhile before actively taking steps to dry the wood. So I decided to give it a try. I wrapped a few large chunks and put them into a dark storage area. About a year ago I unwrapped and cut them up after having forgotten them for about 3 or 4 years. Now I just pulled the last chunk out of storage. I think it has been hidden away wrapped in plastic for about 5 years. I really don't think Chuck intended that I wait this long before unwrapping.
When I pulled off the plastic the wood was dark, wet and slimy. GOOD!
I split the chunk so I would have a manageable size to cut on the bandsaw.
The wood is currently over 35% moisture content.
Most of the color inside has changed from a light orange to a milk chocolate brown color.
I have cut it all into 1&1/4" thick slabs and will let them air dry in a dark area of the shop for a few days so some of the surface moisture will go away.
After that I will wrap the slabs in paper bags and put them into the drying room for about a week. This allows the moisture to redistribute so the wood won't move as much.
Finally I will cut the slabs into blocks and dry them on a rack in the drying room with forced air (whole house furnace fan) and a dehumidifier.
If all goes well the moisture content will be under 10% in about 4 or 5 weeks. (last ones took 4 weeks in the drying room)
Then off to K&G for stabilizing.
Here are some photos of the chunk I cut up. When dry the color will be kind of gray/brown.
Many types of wood would have turned to mush by now if I had treated them like this. But with Madrone Burl, this way works with very little waste caused by cracking and movement.
A point I would like to make is that there is no single way to dry all types of wood. If you do everything the same way, some will turn out good and some will get ruined. So you have to experiment and find out what works best for what you have.
With Madrone burl the wood has tiny pores that you can barely see. That makes it so the wood takes a super nice, smooth finish. But it is also what makes the wood so difficult to dry using normal methods.
Several years ago I was talking to Chuck Bybee of Alpha Knife Supply about drying burl to be used as knife handle material.
The subject of the difficulty in drying Madrone Burl came up and Chuck said I should try wrapping the wood in plastic pallet wrap and leaving that to sit for awhile before actively taking steps to dry the wood. So I decided to give it a try. I wrapped a few large chunks and put them into a dark storage area. About a year ago I unwrapped and cut them up after having forgotten them for about 3 or 4 years. Now I just pulled the last chunk out of storage. I think it has been hidden away wrapped in plastic for about 5 years. I really don't think Chuck intended that I wait this long before unwrapping.
When I pulled off the plastic the wood was dark, wet and slimy. GOOD!
I split the chunk so I would have a manageable size to cut on the bandsaw.
The wood is currently over 35% moisture content.
Most of the color inside has changed from a light orange to a milk chocolate brown color.
I have cut it all into 1&1/4" thick slabs and will let them air dry in a dark area of the shop for a few days so some of the surface moisture will go away.
After that I will wrap the slabs in paper bags and put them into the drying room for about a week. This allows the moisture to redistribute so the wood won't move as much.
Finally I will cut the slabs into blocks and dry them on a rack in the drying room with forced air (whole house furnace fan) and a dehumidifier.
If all goes well the moisture content will be under 10% in about 4 or 5 weeks. (last ones took 4 weeks in the drying room)
Then off to K&G for stabilizing.
Here are some photos of the chunk I cut up. When dry the color will be kind of gray/brown.
Many types of wood would have turned to mush by now if I had treated them like this. But with Madrone Burl, this way works with very little waste caused by cracking and movement.
A point I would like to make is that there is no single way to dry all types of wood. If you do everything the same way, some will turn out good and some will get ruined. So you have to experiment and find out what works best for what you have.
With Madrone burl the wood has tiny pores that you can barely see. That makes it so the wood takes a super nice, smooth finish. But it is also what makes the wood so difficult to dry using normal methods.
Last edited:
You might have a bit of blue stain going on, but spores would have been on the wood before plastic wrapping.
