Rotted Cherry Burl

[Baxter Smith]

After seeing all the great burl pictures over the last week, I thought a few rotten ones might be something different!

A couple of weeks ago my brother in law had mentioned he had some brokens limb with growths on them out in the woods. I checked it out last weekend and found quite a few dead cherrys with burls in various stages of decay. The biggest branch was hung up too high to reach from the ground and it was sandwiched between two crotches. Cut off the lower section and got a couple of burls. Although they were rotten on the outside I was able to turn a couple of things from the inside. Guess I will go back for more!

Went back on Friday with a ladder and a camera.
The upper part of the branch was hung up between two crotches. There were two decent sized burls, one sticking out and one stuck between the two crotches.
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Got them down then took them home with some others from some dead cherrys that were laying around. Anchorsealed them for future use.
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[Baxter Smith]

The future happened to be yesterday morning for the burl sticking out at the top. It was pretty far gone so only got a plate which I roughed out and packed in shavings.

Did the largest/middle one today.
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Decided I would cut off the ends and the badside then go from there.
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Wasn't sure how to proceed but decided I would go with the biggest thing possible.
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[alex carey]

nice gloat, can't go wrong with cherry burl.

[David E Keller]

Nice gloat. Hopefully the rest of them are solid and not too far gone.

[Baxter Smith]

Wasn't sure what I was going to make but needed to see where the rot ended and the solid wood began.
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Used CA several times in some cracks.
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Kept the spray bottle handy to keep wetting.
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Since the top looked good I went with a hollowform.

I was only going to rough this out but it got a little thin on the sides.:eek: Luckily there were some natural holes there so I could notice that! :) Did most of the hollowing with a top hole about half the present size but couldn't get out to the shoulder so had to open it up.
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Didn’t know if it could be returned or not so took a little more off the inside and sanded the outside just in case it doesn’t go back on the lathe. Put on a coat of Antique Oil then stuck it in a box with the shavings I turned from it. Next winter if it is still together maybe I could gently return it if needed and try one of those arteestic finials!;)
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If it doesn't work out, maybe? I will remember what not to do next time.

10 x 5 x it depends. The top is about 1/2, the bottom 3/8, and where the natural holes are about 1/4.

[Mike McAfee]

I've got to get a hold of some of that cherry! Man that's some sweet lookin wood! Mighty fine lookin vessel as well Baxter!

MMc

[Ken Hill]

I like it! Shows alot of folks how much work goes into the process.

Gotta love the Stihl, A+ on that alone:D

[Robert McGowen]

Looks like the results were worth the effort!

[George Guadiane]

I found one cherry burl on a standing rotted tree that was SO rotted that I literally pushed the tree over by leaning on it. The BURL which had been sitting up there for years was (like the gorgeous ones you found) solid as a rock.
I'm glad you went after them, and that you found good material to work with.

Nice Gloat!

I also like the HF that you have on the chuck.

[alex carey]

holy crap that stuff is pretty.

[Dennis Ford]

Great looking hollow form! The wood is outstanding and you did it proud.

[Greg Just]

Nice job Baxter - well done

[John Keeton]

Way to go, Baxter!!!!! Beautiful wood, and fantastic job on the HF! That thing is crying out for one of those blackwood finials!:D Hope it holds together for you and you can get it back on for returning.

[Tony De Masi]

Real nice work there Baxter. Lots of thinking before cutting on this one I'm sure. Absolutely love that cherry burl too. Stunning wood. Hope to see this again in the winter time.

Tony

[Toney Robertson]

That's some pretty wood.

I hope it stays together.

Toney

[Bernie Weishapl]

Well done Baxter. That is some really pretty wood.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Congrats on all the Cherry burl! I've had mixed results with Cherry - the real old stuff (dead and dry) seems to work well but the green wood always wants to crack!

Hope your HF makes it through the drying process! Nice form - great looking wood! Looking forward to seeing it when its finished!

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for all the replies!

I like it! Shows alot of folks how much work goes into the process.

Gotta love the Stihl, A+ on that alone:D
Glad you liked the chainsaw. Got it to replace an old Johnsered that I dropped out of an apple tree!(that was before I started turning bowls). Only has a 16 inch bar but I wanted something I could use off the ground when needed.(and wouldn't wear me out when I was on it)Guess I'm showing my age.:)


I found one cherry burl on a standing rotted tree that was SO rotted that I literally pushed the tree over by leaning on it. The BURL which had been sitting up there for years was (like the gorgeous ones you found) solid as a rock.
I'm glad you went after them, and that you found good material to work with.

George, I don't have much experience with turning and collecting wood (for that purpose:D), but I was very pleasantly surprised when I found the center of the first one was pretty solid. I have another on the lathe right now that was from a tree that was laying on the ground. There were only a couple inches or less of heartwood left on either side of the burl. Has some cracks but I think it will make a decent looking NE hollowform.



Way to go, Baxter!!!!! Beautiful wood, and fantastic job on the HF! That thing is crying out for one of those blackwood finials!:D Hope it holds together for you and you can get it back on for returning.
Thanks John. I may have to get one of those Drozda DVD's. Any suggestions as to which one? (I'm referring to the one you know by heart:D) I'm hoping it had been hung up in that tree long enough and was dry enough so the warping will be minimal.


Real nice work there Baxter. Lots of thinking before cutting on this one I'm sure. Absolutely love that cherry burl too. Stunning wood. Hope to see this again in the winter time.

Tony
Thanks Tony. I'm not sure how much thinking there was. I kept taking the pictures so when something didn't work out I could ask what I should have done differently!:)


Congrats on all the Cherry burl! I've had mixed results with Cherry - the real old stuff (dead and dry) seems to work well but the green wood always wants to crack!

Thanks Steve. When I first saw these pieces of burl I was thinking "If I only had gotten to these a few years ago" but maybe not!:) There are lots of burls in other standing dead cherrys there as well. I won't be in quite as much of a rush to go and get more now. My "gotta get to pile" is getting bigger than my firewood pile.:eek:

[charlie knighton]

very nice, Baxter, nice haul and turning

[Leo Van Der Loo]

The future happened to be yesterday morning for the burl sticking out at the top. It was pretty far gone so only got a plate which I roughed out and packed in shavings.

Did the largest/middle one today.
148450148451
Decided I would cut off the ends and the badside then go from there.
148452
Wasn't sure how to proceed but decided I would go with the biggest thing possible.
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Nice wood again Baxter, and a nice HF also, well done :D

One of the nice things about Black Cherry is that it last out there for a long time and stays solid when dead and looks rotten, but unless there's brown rot in it, it will stay solid for years after the tree dies, I have turned nice solid Black Cherry where a lot of the sapwood had rotted right off of the tree, the bottom 6 feet had been eaten by Carpenter ants and the top broken out of it years before, when that tree fell over and lay across a walking pad, I assumed it would be totally rotten, but when I sawed into it I found it to be solid wood to my surprise, so I cut it up and hauled it home, turned a bunch of bowls and some smaller pieces from it, and it was the darkest colored Black Cherry I've ever turned, I am still wondering if that was for the tree sitting out there like that for such a long time :confused:

[Baxter Smith]

very nice, Baxter, nice haul and turning
Thanks Charlie. Put the last coat of finish on your mesquite bowl this morning. Looks good!:D Thanks for a great piece of wood!

Nice wood again Baxter, and a nice HF also, well done :D

One of the nice things about Black Cherry is that it last out there for a long time and stays solid when dead and looks rotten, but unless there's brown rot in it, it will stay solid for years after the tree dies, I have turned nice solid Black Cherry where a lot of the sapwood had rotted right off of the tree, the bottom 6 feet had been eaten by Carpenter ants and the top broken out of it years before, when that tree fell over and lay across a walking pad, I assumed it would be totally rotten, but when I sawed into it I found it to be solid wood to my surprise, so I cut it up and hauled it home, turned a bunch of bowls and some smaller pieces from it, and it was the darkest colored Black Cherry I've ever turned, I am still wondering if that was for the tree sitting out there like that for such a long time :confused:
Thanks Leo. I was pretty surprised when I cut into the middle of a rotten looking burl for the first time and realized I shouldn't have cut it right where I did!:eek::D I just finished one yesterday where there was not even a trace left of rotten sapwood. Looked like a skeleton on the outside but still nice on the inside.

[John Keeton]

Thanks John. I may have to get one of those Drozda DVD's. Any suggestions as to which one? (I'm referring to the one you know by heart:D)Baxter, this may be the first use of the SMC mobile library!! I think we can get both DVDs on loan to you shortly!