Fir burl? Fir burl!!

[Russell Neyman]

A lumberman showed up at my shop here in Puget Sound tonight with a 100-pound, 30-inch fir burl. It was cut at noon Thursday and is both extremely dense and very wet. Lots of sap, too. I've turned a lot of figured woods, but never fir. As a cabinetmaker and a turner, this is one species that I simply don't encounter or expect good results, generally, because it's just crap wood and doesn't finish well. Anyone else ever turned decorative fir?

My plan -- subject to input from others -- is to cut it into at least four blanks right away, rough turn it, boil it in water, apply sealer, then bag it for several months. I'm thinking that this type of wood will split more than most, but it appears to be denser than regular fir. Never turned fir before but just can't pass up the potential for this sort of figured wood.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

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[Dan Hintz]

I usually see fir in bowls made in line with the endgrain (including the pith in the middle of the bowl). The near-periodocity of the limbs leads to pretty designs from the multiple even-spaced piths. Those bowls usually turn out well, so I see nothing wrong with the wood in general. But never seen a fir burl turned...

[Russell Neyman]

So, I take it from the lack of comments here that nobody else has played with a fir burl, either? Not one of my friends has seen one this large before.

[Mike Stephens]

I usually see fir in bowls made in line with the endgrain (including the pith in the middle of the bowl). The near-periodocity of the limbs leads to pretty designs from the multiple even-spaced piths. Those bowls usually turn out well, so I see nothing wrong with the wood in general. But never seen a fir burl turned...

Never turned it, but from the pic it sure looks http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs18/f/2007/197/b/d/_hungry__revision_by_Mrichston.gif

[Marty Eargle]

Never turned it or heard of anyone else doing it...but I'm sure it shouldn't be too bad. That burl looks like a piece of awesome.

[Wally Dickerman]

I've had a fir burl or two. You may encounter pitch pockets. Could work out to be beautiful wood, but difficult to turn. Check out Bill Luce in Renton. He's done some wonderful stuff with fir.

My latest fir burl is in my shop cut up in a couple of pieces. This is an unusual burl. In 1901 a railroad bridge was constructed over a river in the NW. It was recently removed and some of the landfill for it was also removed. In the landfill was some wood including this burl. It's not large, shaped like a basketball but about 18 inches across. It is still solid but is almost black inside and VERY hard. May be worthless but I'm going to turn a bowl out of a small piece. I'll need sharp tools.

[Russell Neyman]

I've had a fir burl or two. You may encounter pitch pockets. Could work out to be beautiful wood, but difficult to turn. Check out Bill Luce in Renton. He's done some wonderful stuff with fir.

My latest fir burl is in my shop cut up in a couple of pieces. This is an unusual burl. In 1901 a railroad bridge was constructed over a river in the NW. It was recently removed and some of the landfill for it was also removed. In the landfill was some wood including this burl. It's not large, shaped like a basketball but about 18 inches across. It is still solid but is almost black inside and VERY hard. May be worthless but I'm going to turn a bowl out of a small piece. I'll need sharp tools.

You're my type of turner, Wally. It's a journey, not a destination. You're somewhere between Phoenix and Sedona, aren't you? I have family in Sedona, and will look you up next time I come through. Seattle is a loooooooooong way from Arizona, though.

[Russell Neyman]

Its been six months, so I decided to hack off a chuck of it and see how it would turn. It was a very interesting experience to say the least. I'll start off with a few photos, then fill you in.

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What you see here measures 7" wide by 6" tall, but it started out about twice this size. I had to cut off all sorts of spongy barkwood in an inclusion, then re-center the round. The base is a piece of oak.

There's a reason why turners don't work with fir! It's just too darn sappy and full of pitch, and the non-figured parts want to tear rather than cut. Having said that, I can add that it dried out pretty darn quick and didn't split -- six months sitting outside my shop with no endgrain sealers isn't bad. I turned it, thinking that this was just a test piece, and wondering if I needed to try boiling it or putting it into somebody's kiln, and was surprised to see the result.

The biggest challenge was the finish. I applied two coats of boiled linseed, then two coats of clear shellac, deciding that poly might be the best choice for a glossy topcoat. The heavy sap acted like a solvent, and right away I could see that the shellac wasn't locking the wood. The first few coats of poly absolutely refused to cure and I finally had to relent and wipe it down with mineral spirits to have it hard enough to apply another coat. And it really didn't like to be polished (Beal), wanting to gum up rather than smooth out.

With all that behind me I have to say that I have a huge piece left (20" in diameter, 14" tall), and when the weather turns nice I plan to chuck it up and make one nice, large salad bowl. Stay tuned.

[John Keeton]

Nice result, Russell. But, you are right on the fir - don't like sap!!! And, the finishing issues are an added reason.
...I have to say that I have a huge piece left (20" in diameter, 14" tall), and when the weather turns nice I plan to chuck it up and make one nice, large salad bowl. Stay tuned.Let's see......if you started this piece with a chunk twice as large as the turning you show.....?????? With hidden bark inclusions and assorted other design opportunities, I'm thinkin' a 10" salad bowl...;):D

[Ralph Lindberg]

Russell... I've been trying to recall the name of the Kent area turner (it's NOT Eric) that turns mostly old growth Fir. He did a demo on it a few years ago for the club (I think before you joined)
He said, over and over again, scary sharp tools

[David E Keller]

I missed this the first time around... Cool looking piece of burl! Sounds like it wasn't much fun to turn or finish, but it's sure nice to look at.

[neil mackay]

Great looking burl and it shows some real promise. Look forward to seeing how it turns out.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Well that sure turned out nice! The sap and pitch sure sounds like it would take a lot of fun out of the turning aspect! Never turned Fir but have tried some Jack Pine... what a sticky mess!!

Looking forward to seeing the big salad bowl!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That turned out nicely Russell. I turn some fir once and spent a lot of time cleaning tools and the lathe of pitch and sap.

[Russell Neyman]

The timber guys here in the Pacific Northwest say that they almost never see a fir burl, so this is one of those rare opportunities to work with a figured piece that no one else has. I would say that the extraordinary resin was an annoyance, but worth the bother. One of the reasons I posted this was to share the learning curve, in case someone else stumbles upon the same thing.

[Tim Rinehart]

Cool and unusual, but I like the piece you made.
I kinda laughed at myself...thinking, "say Fir Burl 3 times, really fast!":p

[Wally Dickerman]

Russell... I've been trying to recall the name of the Kent area turner (it's NOT Eric) that turns mostly old growth Fir. He did a demo on it a few years ago for the club (I think before you joined)
He said, over and over again, scary sharp tools

You are probably thinking of Bill Luce. Bill lives in Renton, just north of Kent. Does some fantastic things with fir using the hard-soft growth rings.