Burl Cap mounting question

[robert raess]

I have A Box Elder 'Burl Cap'.The cap itself is weathered and beautiful, and i have no desire to work the outside or bottom of the cap.What i propose to do, is turn a rim on the top[where i cut it off the tree] and turn the inside.Now without a spur marring the bottom of the cap, i'm limiting myself on how to mount it on the lathe.I know pic's would help, but let's get the thread going first and see if there are some easy ways to mount this without marring the outside of the burl. thanks rob

[charlie knighton]

Robert, i have seen demo on off center wall hangings where the blank is mounted on mdf with a glue gun. i suppose you could mount the burl in much the same way, problem getting glue off might be tedious. enjoy

[Frank Van Atta]

Just turned a Mallee burl cap exactly that way. What I did was:

· First turn a large waste block to more or less fit the curvature of the outside of the cap;

· Fit the cap into the waste block using the tail stock to hold it in the proper position;

· Apply as much hot melt glue as necessary to hold it in place. I also had to glue in a few small waste wood wedges to make it really secure.

· Let this set until the glue is firmly set and the burl cap doesn't wiggle in the chuck. This make several hours;

· Turn.

· Remove from the chuck. To do this I flooded the glue with alcohol, waited a minute or so and then started gently prying it out. Had to repeat this several times, but the alcohol will make the glue lose its grip and you can eventually pry it loose. It took me about 10 minutes to get the cap out of the chuck and then another 10 to get all the glue off the spikes. (Again, just flood an area with alcohol and work the glue off, then repeat in the next area.)

The only problem I can see is that the spikes on Box Elder Burl are considerably smaller than those on Mallee Burl, so it may take longer to get the glue off. (or the smaller spikes may make it easier).

In any case, I experimented with removing the glue with alcohol by first taking a small piece of burl and covering it with hot melt glue, let then set, then took it off. I found that it is easier than you may think, and the the alcohol doesn't hurt the burl - but I would recommend you experiment a little with your particular type of burl first.

[John Hart]

I like Frank's idea. My first thought was along the same lines except use putty or play-doh to hold it.