Myrtlewood Burl

[Bill Bulloch]

Here are some pieces I turned from the Myrtlewood Burl that I got from Russell Eaton. If you recall, he had a 470 lbs Myrtlewood Burl that was full of sand and pepples, some of which were as large as golf balls. He had a "Burl Cutting Party" back in October. Eight of us showed up to cut the monster and we went through at least 12 chainsaw blades getting it cut into five large pieces. I took one home and dulled a brand new bandsaw blade cutting these three pieces off of it.


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The stem of this is Osage Orange. The myrtlewood burl would not hold up as a stem, so I use this piece of Osage. When I selected the Osage from the scrap pile it had a light brown patina simular to the lightest part of the burl. Ofcourse, when I turned it the yellow came back. Hopefully, though, it will darken again with time.

What Ya Think?

[David E Keller]

It's pretty stuff, Bill! Who knew that free wood could be so expensive, huh? I really like that natural edge piece!

[Baxter Smith]

Pretty wood but it sounds like a lot of work too!

[Bill Bulloch]

It's pretty stuff, Bill! Who knew that free wood could be so expensive, huh? I really like that natural edge piece!

I guess that that's what Russell was thinking when he finally gave up on trying to cut it himself and opened it up to the public. He said he couldn't afford to buy enough chainsaw blades to cut it. Then, he runs out and buys that "Black" Monster -- go figure.

[John Keeton]

I guess that that's what Russell was thinking when he finally gave up on trying to cut it himself and opened it up to the public. He said he couldn't afford to buy enough chainsaw blades to cut it. Then, he runs out and buys that "Black" Monster -- go figure.And.....now you know WHY Russell said he couldn't afford to cut it up - he had already set his priorities!!

Bill, these are beautiful pieces and probably worth the effort. But, this type of thing reinforces my belief that often it is worth buying "milled" burl that his been cut to size by someone else. Cheaper in the end, particularly considering the time factor and the opportunity cost of actually finding a decent burl.

[Russell Eaton]

Bill nice job on all those pieces. I am going to put a large piece on the BLACK BEAST after Church today. I tried to get one of my chains sharpened an it was ruined. Glad you got some pieces turned out of it. The bigger piece I have if full of eyes.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Those are some nice pieces Bill and definitely worth the effort.