What do you look for when finding burls in nature?

Chiro75

Chiro75

Joined
Feb 4, 1999
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Chiro, you were right the first time, they are exactly that, big lumps that remind you of cancerous growths on the trunks of trees. Often they can be surgically removed without killing the tree.
Grain growth and direction varies wildly in them which makes them perfect for woodcarvers who like to make fine artistic bowls and such out of them. Of course knifemakers love them also but they are not common here in the deep south.
One of the woodcarving books in print right now has a whole section on burls and how to identify, collect, cure and cut/carve them, unfortunately I don't remember the name of the book, but I've seen it at almost every bookstore locally and at the public library.
If you go hunting for them make sure you have the land owners permission before you pull the chainsaw out!
smile.gif
-Guy Thomas
 
Any tree can produce a burl, even softwood trees. Your best bet is to go for any fruit baring (nuts, acorns, apples, etc.) trees.
Make sure you can identify the tree species first. Some trees, like maple, come in hard and soft varieties.
Some trees that have spectacular burls are...
Maple
Elm
Ash
Walnut

Some trees grow burls on the root system. Unless you see it poking up out of the ground you won't know if it has one.
There are a couple of trees in the nieghborhood and surrounding area that have huge burls. I am waiting and watching for someone to cut them down or for a big wind storm to sweep through the area.

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