wood prep question, Gloat now cut up

[curtis rosche]

so i got a good bit of that large burl cut up into moveable sections barely moveable, but it can be done. i need to clean the rotten wood off the inside of the peices, what is the easiest way to do this? i am thinking that it would be best to do this before they are cut smaller, so that thin spots and holes can be avoided and not end up in the middle of the blank.
i have seen before where a pressure washer was used to clean off burls, but i think it might be a little to cold out now to do that.

also, bug control has be discused here many times, but only for individual peices, i got a couple hundred, maybe over 1000lbs of burl, so freezing it, and DNA soaking arent really an option. what would be best?

heres some picture of the wood, some of the peices are really really heavy. i put a 12 inch square on top of a couple peices to compare for size. this is all spaulted burl
the last picture is the ivy trunk. it is growing through a couple of these peices

[curtis rosche]

so whats the easiest way to clean the punky wood off, and get rid of any bugs in the wood?

[curtis rosche]

does using a pressure washer on the wood make it crack more?

[Ted Calver]

Curtis,
I pressure washed the last load of burl I got. That took a lot of the bark off and doing that goes a long way to controlling the bugs. Be sure to anchor seal the entire piece. That will help reduce cracking. Too cold to pressure wash??? Why when I was your age I had to walk 12 miles through the ice and snow fighting off the wolves every step of the way just to get to school.....and it was uphill both ways if I recall correctly....:) :)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=35653

[alex carey]

no idea but it sure looks like you have some great stuff there.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Curtis,
I pressure washed the last load of burl I got. That took a lot of the bark off and doing that goes a long way to controlling the bugs. Be sure to anchor seal the entire piece. That will help reduce cracking. Too cold to pressure wash??? Why when I was your age I had to walk 12 miles through the ice and snow fighting off the wolves every step of the way just to get to school.....and it was uphill both ways if I recall correctly....:) :)


Yea but Ted I did the same thing but barefoot.:D:rolleyes::cool:;)

[john taliaferro]

that is some nice wood curtis . but ted has a good score their to. you both need to get to work . i saw a bowl in a gallery two weeks ago. 12" 2000.00 john t

[curtis rosche]

how much of a mess does it make? like as in is it gonna take so long that the ground around it will be all mud, or does it go pretty quickly. also, what nozzel works best? i dont wanna get rid of the spaulting wood, just the rotten stuff

[Ted Calver]

Curtis,
Depends on the tree. It usually makes a mess. I used a combination of pressure wash and a small pry bar to debark. Easiest too do it on a when the wood is green and best to do on a hard surface driveway for easier clean up. You will have to experiment to find the right nozzle. Mine has an adjustable rotating jet head.

[ROY DICK]

Curtis,
Wish I could help you, but I never got any burl like that. Good luck and keep us posted.
Now I think I would gloat about that pretty young lady in your avatar.
Are you sure she knows you are a woodturner? :D

PS; to Ted and Bernie. You two must have gone to the same school my parents went to.

Roy

[curtis rosche]

i was wondering how long it would be before someone said somthin about my girlfriend in my avatar.......
yeah she knows. she spent all day at a craft show helping me sell stuff as a 3rd date :)

[curtis rosche]

will this need to be sealed? the tree had been standing dead for years. and the wood is really dry already. but i assume when it gets pressure washed it will soak some up

[CW McClellan]

Who's the guy with your girl friend?

[curtis rosche]

ME of course...

[Steve Kubien]

Ted and Bernie....Luxary! We had the same walk but we had to do it barefoot AND when we got to school, well you couldn't really call it a school as it was only a mud puddle. But it was a school to us and we were lucky to have it!

-with all due respect to the Pythons.

[Don Meyer]

I doubt that the wood is truly dry inside. I took some maple from my sister's back yard that she said had been dead for approximately six years. Imagine my surprise when I cut up some blanks the inside measured 22% on my moisture meter. It had been standing when she felled it so it was not laying on the ground.

[Harvey Mushman]

i was wondering how long it would be before someone said somthin about my girlfriend in my avatar.......
yeah she knows. she spent all day at a craft show helping me sell stuff as a 3rd date :)

Whatever................I liked your Golden Retriever avatar better......A girlfriend will dump you sooner or later, but your Golden will always be your best buddy!!!!! :)