Burl suppliers

[Scott Hackler]

So where would the best (cheapest) place to buy burl caps and/or burl blanks. I am going to need to order some "good" wood for future projects. I know that Gilmer charged me $6 per pound + shipping for BLM burl caps, so they are an option. I really would like to score some Red Mallee or some Aussie burls or really any burl with good figure.

Thanks

[Don Alexander]

Bad Dog Burls have a fair amount of the aussie burls you mentioned never had the funds to order any yet so no idea on actual cost or service

[Roger Chandler]

Scott,

I have not purchased any burls as of yet, just found a few in the wild. At our symposium in October there was a company "Choice Woods" that had some awesomely beautiful burls from Australia, and other places as well as some domestic ones. They had a very good supply, but some were big and some small, and the larger ones had larger prices on them as well.........think $150 to $300. I don't know if that will help you, but they did also have a lot in the $22.00- $75.00 range as well in some bins.

I know that they have adds in the turning magazines, so you might want to check them out, just to see if they have anything that fits your interest and budget. they were very nice folks at the symposium, and a lot of turners left with pieces from them.

[Dan Forman]

Jim at http://www.australianburls.com/ is a great guy to do business with for the Aussie stuff.

Dan

[David E Keller]

Jim at http://www.australianburls.com/ is a great guy to do business with for the Aussie stuff.

Dan
I just got an order from him, and I couldn't be happier with the quality of the burl. I've had great luck with Isaac Rapelje for BLM and some Aussie burls. eBay can be kind of hit and miss. I think west Penn hardwoods has a special going for a bulk purchase of Aussie Burl caps. I know a guy in Australia that I've done some business with but he doesn't have a lot of burl(although he just harvested a large platypus gum burl). I'm happy to share contacts if you're interested.

[John Keeton]

Scott, nearly all of my BLM burls have come from Mike Smith at http://www.easternncwoodworkers.com/ Mike has a vast selection of domestics, as well, and was a sponsor of our Fall Turning contests. You may recall the thread with Jack Mincey and his prizes, as well as the thread on the large silver maple logs that Jack provided to Mike.

[Scott Hackler]

Thanks for the info. I will be checking the various suppliers out. I don't want to buy a dump truck load of burl but just a bit to have on hand for when the mood strikes me. Around here, burls are rare and most are attached to massive white / burr oak trees so they aren't available for harvest.

[Steve Stram]

I ordered some Madrone from oregonburls.com and they included a teaser of burl that was really cool. They have a tab for Turners on their site. I made a small box for my daughter from it that was a real attention getter.

Really make sure you stabilize burl before turning it or running it through a planer. DAMHIKT

Steve.

[Dennis Ford]

I have bought some on ebay, quality has matched the pictures shown for the auctions. The price varies a lot, I just put in my max bid and see what happens. Sometimes you can get a small burl cheap, other times someone wants it more than I do. If several people are bidding on the same item, I don't bother.

[Jim Silva]

I've been quite happy with Bad Dog Burls for the few I've bought. Granted, they're local to me so I don't know about shipping rates.

[Ryan Baker]

Bad Dog Burls has great service, and very reasonable shipping. I'd happily order from them again.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks for asking that Scott. Have been looking for some burls myself.

[John Fabre]

Isaac Rapelje from here sent some good looking pieces.

[Trevor Howard]

Scott, nearly all of my BLM burls have come from Mike Smith at http://www.easternncwoodworkers.com/ Mike has a vast selection of domestics, as well, and was a sponsor of our Fall Turning contests. You may recall the thread with Jack Mincey and his prizes, as well as the thread on the large silver maple logs that Jack provided to Mike.

Just followed your link John and found it expired Yesterday (27th) hope Mike just got busy and forgot to renew.

[Rick Markham]

Almost all of my burls come from "the bay" but you have to be a savy shopper. I've got quite a few saved sellers that consistently have great stuff. I haven't had one that doesn't match its description yet. There are some good deals, and some "not so good deals" but ya have to be willing to spend the time looking, thats the real secret. Of course there are always those who are willing to pay more for some of them, that's the nature of the free market. Generally those folks see what they want and buy it, they aren't investing the time in research. I am going to have to check out some of these links. Right now I probably have 50lbs of "smaller" pieces of spectacular maple burl that I am sitting on, eventually they will all become small boxes. Hopefully some will become hollow forms in the not so distant future.

[John Keeton]

Just followed your link John and found it expired Yesterday (27th) hope Mike just got busy and forgot to renew.Trevor, I sent you a PM with Mike's email address, and I have emailed him regarding the website. It is a collaborative website with four members, and I don't know who actually owns the domain.

[John Keeton]

Trevor, and others that might be interested, Mike Smith has his website back up, and informs me he is working on a new site that should be up in a few weeks. Somewhere, I saw a post on the cost of West Coast burls being sold at about $6/lb. As I recall, I have paid closer to $2-3/lb. for the Big Leaf Maple burls I have purchased from Mike. That is a significant difference! And, Mike helped as a sponsor for our turning contest - providing well over $250 worth of turning blanks, and he has indicated he will do so in future contests. Jack Mincey was the winner of that package.

I don't have a financial interest, and I pay the same for wood from Mike as would one of you. Just like the prices, and enjoy supporting someone that helps support the contests!

[Kelvin Burton]

Trevor, it's working right now for me.

[Trevor Howard]

I got there too today, thanks guys.

Thank you John for the PM, I will save the information. Right now due to financial and shop wise issues I am only absorbing as much info as I can find.

[Jim Burr]

Pretty sure he did Trevor...I just received two boxes from him and am waiting on the third any day now!

[john snowdon]

Last week, based on a recommendation from another website, I ordered some pen blanks from Bad Dog Burls (www.burlsource.com/). I was very happy with the quality of the blanks when they arrived the next day and decided to drive the 75 minutes to visit. I'm relatively new at this and was amazed at both the inventory and quality Rob had on hand. He spent over a hour explaining the different woods to me and steering me away from material that would be beyond my skill set. I did buy a beautiful piece of Amboyna burl and several other pieces that will make gorgeous boxes. I'm not sure about the price per pound but I will definitely visit there again. Nice guy, great service and beautiful material.