Burl cutting questions

[Jesse Robinson]

I am new to the forum and wanted to ask a question about cutting up burls. I was sucked into the vortex about a year ago and have been making pens and game calls but want to get into some other stuff as well. I came across a pile or Russian olive burls that have been sitting covered in Colorado for about two years. Is there a best way to cut a burl? Is 2 years a sufficient time for them to dry out? At least enough that when they are cut into smaller pieces that they will not crack in half or something. I realize that burls have a mind of their own and nothing is guaranteed.
Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jesse

[charlie knighton]

great find, i suggest packing them in cardboard barrels or boxes for 6 months or so

[Matt Newton]

My suggestion is to close your eyes and just cut. :D For a long time I was too worried about getting the most out of the burls I found. Just remember if you didn't pay anything for the wood you haven't lost anything. I would guess the wood is still somewhat wet on the very inside. Just be sure to seal it after it is cut. Good luck and happy turning.

[Jack Mincey]

In General green wood takes one year per inch to air dry. I mess around with burl wood some and like to rough turn my bowls ASAP and let them dry and return or turn them to finish thickness and let them dry. As far as getting blanks to turn calls or pens from, I like to cut them 25% bigger than I need them and dry them in a card board box or brown paper bag. It takes a couple years to dry a blank that is 2 inches thick. You well lose some and win some.
Happy Turning,
Jack

[David E Keller]

I'm not an expert, but I'd likely cut it into pieces based on what you want to turn from it. Since there's no telling what's inside of a burl, it's pretty easy to over think the cutting process. I think the only real consideration would be if you were wanting some natural edge pieces... You would want to orient those appropriately.

Russian Olive burl is beautiful wood, and that's quite a bunch of it that you've got there. I would seal any cut surface with anchorseal or something similar, and I would also try to keep it out of the sun and up off the ground if at all possible.

I would think you would want to rough turn, dry, and re-turn the pieces that you make unless you're looking for some warpage in the finished product.

I can't wait to see what you find inside that burl... Please post some photos.

[alex carey]

i wish i could say "I cama cross some russian burls."

Nice gloat.

[Curt Fuller]

Wow, what a find!

[David DeCristoforo]

Burls are almost impossible to "read" from the outside. You have to cut into them. The "best" approach is to mentally lay out pieces, working around any obviously unusable areas. Once you open the burl, you will have a much better idea of what's inside and how to maximize it. But don't wait too long. You need to get your blanks cut and sealed before the burl, as Leo so graphically put it in his reply to Christopher Hartley "self-destructs".

[Peter Hay in Aus]

Jesse,

Having cut the burl I find after a few days a real method of how dry rule of thumb my wife showed me was if they feel coldish compared with other cut blanks when placed on your face they are not dry enough. If not dry I place them in my roof space and weigh them every week, when the weight stabilizes they are ready. My experience with Olive of 3/4 of a ton I cut from 80 yr old trees tells me that it takes a long time in the logform to dry but when cut to generous blanks my method a few months only. If when you cut initially you try too hard to chase the colour it can be misleading in that whilst turning olive changes so fast, every pen is a recelation in itself as you cut. I have two year cut Olive that requires patience as well. Log form normal Olive chasing the black can be elusive it is a brittle timber with lots of hidden faults.

Your burl looks good, have success Peter.

[Frank Van Atta]

My suggestion is to close your eyes and just cut. :D For a long time I was too worried about getting the most out of the burls I found. Just remember if you didn't pay anything for the wood you haven't lost anything.

Can't say I go along with that. A beautiful and unusual piece of wood is just that, regardless of the cost. Hacking away at it without regard for the beauty or uniqueness of the pieces just because it didn't cost an arm and a leg is a good way to lose some unusual wood - and a procedure you may regret later.

[Jesse Robinson]

Thanks for all the great advise! I am really impressed with all the help everyone is willing to give. In my line of business most are not willing to give information like this out. Especially in this economy. I hope once we start cutting we find some really great figure inside. I will send some pictures when we do.

Jesse

[Frederico Moretz]

I am the new kid on the block and could use some good ideas on sawing burls to sale. I have a LT40 Wood-Mizer which is used to saw regular lumber and I made a jig to saw-safely-short logs such as burls. These are nice cherry and maple burls, mostly large, 50-60 pounds. What is a good way to saw one for experience but also into blanks that would sell to local(Winston Salem) turners? Thanks for your suggestions and your turning. Fred

[robert baccus]

It would not unreasonable to consider giving a burl to someone you greatly dislike.