Burls are like a box of chocolate.......work in progress!

[Roger Chandler]

I am not real experienced with burls, I have turned a couple..........I have never purchased one.......won one from Serious Tool works once, and have recovered some cherry ones from the wild last year.........decided now was the time to get into one of them..........

Forest gump said........"life is like like a box of chocolates.....you never know what you will get." Well, I say the same applies to burls..........unless of course you get to inspect them fully with all the bark off on a display rack at some woodturning show!

This cherry burl had bark inclusions deep..........did not show up at all when I first mounted the piece......it showed up when I was turning the bark off! Had a different form in mind with a pedestal and maybe some other embelishments..............now I think a hollow form with maybe a finial..............

I will post a few pics of the process and I had to stop...........got the thing covered with a plastic bag on the lathe at present..........

212909212910212911212912212913212914212922 I will post some more as I go along, and maybe get some ideas from some of you more experienced burl enthusiasts on a good finish.............;):D

[Mike Cruz]

I love burls, Roger. And I tempeted to keep the inclusions in the piece. Of course, I have yet to do a hollow form, so what you ended up with is not where I would have gone with it...

Looks like it'll turn out to be a beautiful piece. Looking forward to the the future pics as it progresses...

[John Keeton]

Roger, that sure is a nice lookin' hunk o' burl!!!! Are holding that sucker by the tenon shown in the first couple of pics??? Sure looks scary!

The form is looking great so far. I usually turn/sand to finish before hollowing as the outside will move on you and getting a clean cut after hollowing can be tricky with thin walls. In any event, it sure is looking nice.

[Roland Martin]

That's a really nice burl, Roger. Is that the MONSTER I'm waiting for? No, my mistake, it's Jet white :D. Seriously though, looking good!

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, that sure is a nice lookin' hunk o' burl!!!! Are holding that sucker by the tenon shown in the first couple of pics??? Sure looks scary!

John,

The first pic has the tenon hidden, but the chuck is holding it.......I turned another on the other end so I could reverse it after I saw what whoppin' voids were in this thing and cracks! :eek:

I have it sanded to 240 grit on the outside, and for all intents it is pretty smooth, but I will probably have to go back and wet sand to get a "Keeton grade" finish on it......as if I think I could come close! :rolleyes:

I think the outside is pretty much set, and now the inside is hollowed to about 1/4 ".....because of the voids and holes you can see through the piece, I felt it advisable to leave a little extra to hold this one together.

Maybe David Keller will like it anyway! :D

[Roger Chandler]

I love burls, Roger. And I tempeted to keep the inclusions in the piece. Of course, I have yet to do a hollow form, so what you ended up with is not where I would have gone with it...

Looks like it'll turn out to be a beautiful piece. Looking forward to the the future pics as it progresses...

Mike,

I had no choice but to leave the inclusions in it, or else turn away all the burl figure and eyes.......and make a real small turning out of what started out as a pretty nice sized burl..............oh well, I guess this is what they call a "design opportunity!"

[Roger Chandler]

A couple more pics......maybe you can pick up on the eyes in the grain figure with these.

212926212927212928

[Mike Cruz]

Oh, Roger, I actually love it! I saw the eyes before. Didn't, however, realize that the bark inclusion went all the way through. That is going to be on beautiful piece when it is finished!

[Bill Bolen]

Looks as if you are having a ball with that burl Roger! Looking good so far and I'm anxious for pic's of the finished piece.

[Curt Fuller]

That's going to be a beauty Roger! You can never go wrong with a burl, they're all pretty. Probably the single most determining factor in how I turn one is finding a place where the wood is solid enough and looks strong enough to hold a tenon in the chuck. It looks like that's what you've done too. Just because I like natural edges and voids and all that kind of stuff, I think I would have began hollowing this one at the point it is in the second photo. But what you've done is going to be just as nice with a finial. Unlike some of the concrete like Australian burls, most the domestic wood burls I've worked with are kind of soft wood. So I usually give my tenons a good shot of CA to help reinforce them. And when I get to that point in picture #2 I put some CA around what will be the edges of the voids and soft areas just so they hang on better during the hollowing process.
Can't wait to see what becomes of this.

[Roger Chandler]

That's going to be a beauty Roger! You can never go wrong with a burl, they're all pretty. Probably the single most determining factor in how I turn one is finding a place where the wood is solid enough and looks strong enough to hold a tenon in the chuck. It looks like that's what you've done too. Just because I like natural edges and voids and all that kind of stuff, I think I would have began hollowing this one at the point it is in the second photo. But what you've done is going to be just as nice with a finial. Unlike some of the concrete like Australian burls, most the domestic wood burls I've worked with are kind of soft wood. So I usually give my tenons a good shot of CA to help reinforce them. And when I get to that point in picture #2 I put some CA around what will be the edges of the voids and soft areas just so they hang on better during the hollowing process.
Can't wait to see what becomes of this.

Curt,

We must be reading from the same song book..........except for the placement of the tenon, I have done all that you have described........soaked the tenon with CA, and the voids as well.

[Roger Chandler]

I know a lot of folks like bark inclusions and think it adds character to a piece..........I agree ........to some extent. However, I like solid wood for my turnings for the most part. To me when you can turn a really nice piece of figured wood, and the piece is nice and solid............it doesn't get any better in my mind.

this burl looked solid, but when I turned away the bark, boy did I get a surprise.............I had to drop back and punt, and change my plans entirely...........now I don't have all the details worked out in my mind as of yet........so I will be making it up as I go along................

such is the nature of wood! :(

[charlie knighton]

enjoy, be careful

[Bernie Weishapl]

Roger that is going to be beautiful when finished. Can't wait to see it.

[David E Keller]

I think you've happened onto a really special piece of wood! Like Curt, I'm partial to the bark and voids, so this piece is right up my alley! Looking forward to seeing it finished up!

[Baxter Smith]

Looking good Roger! Looks like you have avoided any drying and cracking so far. Good luck with it!

[David DeCristoforo]

Some guys love digging into a burl and finding those huge caverns. Dr. Keller for one. He likes to be able to see through his pieces. And Allan Trout who likes to fill them up with colored resins. Personally, my heart always sinks a bit when I realize that my pristine burl is not going to be so pristine as I thought. Then I try to make the best of it. Looks like that's where you sit right now...

[Roger Chandler]

S Then I try to make the best of it. Looks like that's where you sit right now...

You are so right, Sir!

[Michelle Rich]

me thinks it will be lovely..I hope to see it finished posthaste

[Roger Chandler]

That's a really nice burl, Roger. Is that the MONSTER I'm waiting for? No, my mistake, it's Jet white :D. Seriously though, looking good!


You're gonna love it when you get it, Roland.........Randy was nice enough to do mine in Grizzly green!

[David Reed]

I too enjoy the voids in my burls. Perhaps that is because most of the burl I have is loaded with bark inclusions. I nearly tossed out some pieces early on due to voids but then realized how much interest they provide to the final work. I see lots of potential with this piece. A nice side benefit of the holes and voids is that you can very clearly see the cutting tool inside during hollowing. No need for a laser here!

[Roger Chandler]

A nice side benefit of the holes and voids is that you can very clearly see the cutting tool inside during hollowing. No need for a laser here!


Thanks David............

with the high shoulders on this piece, I did need the laser to see where the cutting tip is in that area...........it is hollowed to about 1/4 inch.............I thought better of going thinner on this one due to the voids............when I finally get a chance to finish it and put a finial on it, I think it will be pretty............

That being said, I would have preferred a solid piece of wood, highly figured...............one can dream can't they? ;)

[robert baccus]

Really nice burl and shape. as to the inclusions and voids--these are called character. charge at least $100 extra for each defect.-----------------old forester

[Roger Chandler]

I have continued the "work in progress" on this burl in another thread........"Gnarly Sophisticate" for any of you who wanted to see it come to the finish..........which it is still in process in the other thread, see explanation there...........thanks!

[Tony De Masi]

Really looking forward to seeing this one Roger. Is this the piece that Mike tried to take from you?

[Roger Chandler]

Really looking forward to seeing this one Roger. Is this the piece that Mike tried to take from you?

I am not sure I remember that one Tony...........this piece I kept in the back building..........I think he mentioned one in the shop, if I remember correctly...........

[Mike Cruz]

Why do I always get dragged into these things? :D Not sure I remember trying to take a burl from Roger, Tony. But I wouldn't put it past me... :rolleyes:

[Roger Chandler]

Why do I always get dragged into these things? :D Not sure I remember trying to take a burl from Roger, Tony. But I wouldn't put it past me... :rolleyes:

Mike.............my memory is vague, but I think you mentioned that 3.5 inch thick, 14.5 inch wide slab of kiln dried walnut that I have sitting behind the lathe...........I mentioned [if I remember correctly] that I got that to turn some offering plates for our church.............does that ring a bell, or am I confusing a conversation with someone else? :confused:

[Mike Cruz]

Funny, even without having anything to drink, I don't remember that at all. But again, a 3.5" thick 14.5" wide slab of walnut would CERTAINLY have gotten my attention. Even if I didn't "say" anything about it, the drool I was spilling all over it would have sponken volumes...

[Roger Chandler]

Funny, even without having anything to drink, I don't remember that at all. But again, a 3.5" thick 14.5" wide slab of walnut would CERTAINLY have gotten my attention. Even if I didn't "say" anything about it, the drool I was spilling all over it would have sponken volumes...


Mike...................:D:D:D !!!