Maple burl HF.

[Jack Mincey]

I've been looking at the burls on a large red maple tree for years and it was cut down last year when the property was developed for commercial use. I stopped and asked about it before they got around to cutting it and was told that it was already spoken for and was to be sawed into lumber. It was a big disappointment to see it get sawed up into lumber since the burls would not be used to their fullest as lumber IMHO. I got a call a few weeks ago from the person who ended up with it. He does beautiful, unbelievable flat work, but he felt the same as I and didn't thank that he could use some of the burls as well as a bowl turner and gave me first crack at what he didn't want. Lucky for me he had seen a couple of my pieces before and knew that I turned some. I ended up with 4 nice burls and this one is the first that I've roughed out. It is extremely nice and I will post a picture of it when it is finished. I use the Kobra system to hollow it and have to say that this system is great. It is 12" in dia and about the same in height. Sorry for the picture, but I just set it in the top of a shop vac drum I used to carry the curlies out of the shop at the end of the day.
Jack
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/DSC00430.jpg

[Dan Forman]

Looks promising, looking forward to seeing it finished. Really nice that he thought of you and got you the burls.

Dan

[Nate Davey]

An Ambrosia Red Maple Burl. I can't wait to see this.

[John Keeton]

Jack, looks like it is going to be one of your spheres!! Great piece of wood and excellent score on your part. The burl has a lot going on - even some Ambrosia in it?? The finish will really bring it to life.

[Brian Effinger]

I got a call a few weeks ago from the person who ended up with it. He does beautiful, unbelievable flat work, but he felt the same as I and didn't thank that he could use some of the burls as well as a bowl turner and gave me first crack at what he didn't want.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Congrats on the burls - can't wait to see the finished project. It looks really promising. :)

[David E Keller]

Congrats on getting the wood you've been coveting for years... I've got a couple of burly elm trees in town that I've been salivating over for several years now.

Looks like there's a little bit of everything good in that piece... Looking forward to seeing it finished.

[Bernie Weishapl]

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

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jack - congrats on getting the burls! This one is going to be a beauty! Looking forward to seeing it when finished!

[Jim Burr]

Oh yeah..that's gonna be great!

[George Guadiane]

The wood is just gorgeous and it looks like you're going to show it of perfectly!

[Kathy Marshall]

Nice score! Looks like it will be a beauty when it's finished!

[Jack Mincey]

Thanks everyone, I had given up any hope of ever turning one of these burls when the tree was cut and hauled away. It was a pleasant surprise when I got the call that this person had a few burls for me and even more so when I went to pick up the burls and recognized the tree they came from. He confirmed that the tree was the same one that I had watched for years. Being that the tree had been cut for a time it had some checks in the none burl area of this blank which I was able to turn away except for the tenon area. I used a bit of thin CA on the tenon area to hopefully prevent them from migrating into the form itself. I usually turn away all checks but had to leave some in this rough out to show of the wood best.
Thanks Again,
Jack

[Joe Landon]

Looking good so far. That is some beautiful timber.