Wood gloat

[Ken Hill]

Ya'll didnt see this coming did ya haha!

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[Jack Mincey]

Ken, if the last picture is all Cherry burl you have one extremely nice large one in the bunch. It should prove to make some out standing bowls.
Jack

[charlie knighton]

it looks like cherry burl, way to start the year out

[Roger Chandler]

Did you have to fight the bears :eek: to get it? :rolleyes::D

[Ken Hill]

Its all Cherry. I have 3 of them that size and a bunch smaller that should be good for the HF crowd.

I will be back there in a few weeks for another truck load, the weather turned really nasty and forced us off the mountain. The big burl was pushed aside in a cherry that the loggers had knocked over 3 feet off a skid road.

[John Keeton]

Ken, those burls are awesome!!! Nice shot of the bear "on the way down."

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Ken,
I must be dumb. Explain the bear picture. What was he falling from? By the way, the cherry is to die for.
faust

[charlie knighton]

nice cherry, espically burl, bear rug is good, bear claws big medicine

[David E Keller]

Nice looking truckload of cherry burl, Ken! I can't believe you let a little weather force you away from the rest of those burls!

[Ken Hill]

David, it went from sprinkling to a downpour pushed by 50+ mph winds. With all the logging, there are widowmakers everywhere so we opted to use common sense haha

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Thanks for the explanation, Ken. Not being a hunter I assumed the bear was not practicing his swan dives but the fact that you were there and ready with your camera made me to feel you were in a situation where you could predict he was about to fly. You must have the most amazing collection of photographs, especially of wildlife. It's a treat to see your work. Sometimes I get the feeling the camera is implanted behind your eye and all you have to do is blink and another moment is recorded. By the way, remembering the picture of the rattler, a camera would have to be mounted to the back of my head to catch that one since I would be moving the other way...quickly.
faust

[Ken Hill]

Faust, I try and capture life, whether I may agree, enjoy or dislike it, I capture it. I have every picture from the time the bear was tree'd, the shot, and the fall. As a hunter I have conflicting emotions at times when I see such beauty destroyed, but my salvation is that a family is fed. I will not hunt with sport hunters. I will not particpate in needless killing. If we kill it, we eat it and so do those that surround me. My family spends less then $100 per year on store bought meat if that says anything. As far as the snakes, I am very very afraid of them....irrational fear maybe, but I just dont like them. It took all, and I mean ALL I had to get close enough to do what I needed to do for the images. Just think, last night I was in a very ritzy hotel shooting a wedding, when the New Year rang in I was along side a river shooting the bride and groom. 7 am this morning I was high in the mountains enjoying Gods splendor. I live life, waste none of it and if I can show people what goes on beyond their small daily exisitance then I am satisifed. It is not my choice to judge how others view what I document, that is for them alone to decide. If my work draws emotion then thats fine, again, they need to deal with those feelings and issues and if moved, take action.

[Michael Menzli]

Cool wood shots....How were you able to harvest the lumber off this land? Ill def. have to post some of my recent adventures ... I think Ive fell 25 or so trees over the past few days. Many are simply over running the farm.

That bear shot is fascinating but sad as well. Cool you will make good use of it. Not a big fan of "dog" hunting. Guys around my parts use them to run deer to death while they sit around and drink beer and line up to shoot at em as the run but..its like fishing in a barrel. Also the amount of unfed dogs that make their way to my house every year that we feed...just sad stuff.

Anyways looking forward to the turnings. Just curious how do you decide how to cut the burl and various "rounds" out of this lumber.Mainly your crotches. How do you cut and mount to get the most figure etc.?I realize that is part of the fun and mystery but would love to have better success when processing some of this wood I cut. Right now I typically rip the wood down the pith with my band saw or chainsaw depending on size. From there I mainly turn crossgrain(I think its called)..bark side toward the headstock.

[Ken Hill]

Michael, these burls came from an area thats being timbered, around 7000 acres I believe. I think i can fill a few trucks up with just burls we find on the ground, but we have permission to cut all we can find as the timber company will do nothing but bulldoze them over.

I love beagles for rabbits, labs for waterfowl/upland game etc, but am not a real fan of hunting bear or deer with dogs. With that said, it would be almost impossible to harvest the number of bears the state wants taken without them. I would assume deer in some areas are the same way (swamps etc). Sadly, you can and will find teh bad in anything. The group I hunt with treat their dogs as family, very well cared for.

Burls are fairly new to me so I may not be of great help, espeically with the smaller ones but I can see where they would make easy Hollowforms or vases etc. The larger ones I will process into bowl blanks and I am sure a few cut off's will find their way into other smaller turning projects. As far as teh crotches, I try and keep the piths clear and will decide on how I cut the blank down after I see the inside. This cherry has some intense black, seriously looks like someone painted it. I cant wait to turn some bowls from it!

[Hayes Rutherford]

Nice wood haul and as an amateur bread and pie maker all I could think of when I saw your bear was pie crust! Bear lard has to be the best thing for making pie crust.

[Ken Hill]

You know Hayes, someone else told me that and I assumed they were yanking my chain! I personally havent taken a Bear yet, I see no need in killing a small one top satisfy that itch. When i do, you can bet every ounce will be put to use...now I have to check out this lard thing haha

[Russell Eaton]

Ken those are some incredible burls. The one burl is a BIG boy. You will have some fun with all of them. I have a few here I think after breakfast I might spin one. Thanks for showing.

[Ken Hill]

Russell, any chance you can grab a few pics of your process? I grasp the big burl and how to cut it, but these smaller ones have me a bit confused, infact I may not use any of them as I dont do HF's. I can see how a HF and even those nice goblet pieces Scott and DD do can come from these but I dont think I can do much with them beyond a HF or goblet but I wont cut them into turning blanks, I would rather give them to someone who can make good use of them:D

[Donny Lawson]

Ken, those are some great looking burls and will be some awesome looking pieces in the future. I hope to see a nice bowl from this soon. Get all you can.,Cherry burls are great inside.

[Ken Hill]

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Here is the small ones. I put the can of MS in for scale

[Russell Eaton]

I will try Ken, I am no expert but I have one heck of a good time!

[Ken Hill]

I sure do appreciate it. Cutting burls seems to be a mystery to many of us. I reckon because getting ahold of one isnt a daily deal, and we dont want to screw it up LOL! I am sure if I had a Monster, I could dive in but alas I dont ..yet:p I can see many forms in these that I see posted here, it just hasnt clicked in my head yet as to how to cut them to not waste anything and too not orient the piece wrong to not capture what is hiding there. Learning curves suck !

[David E Keller]

That's a nice little lineup you got there, Ken! Don't be afraid to cut them up and have a go. That one second from the right looks like a good candidate for a bowl with that large rounded projection coming off the side... Just lop it off of there and get to spinning it! I think the most interesting portion of the burl is directly under the bark, so that particular chunk looks to have a decent sized bowl with the convex surface of the bowl matching the convex surface of the bark. The one on the far left in the foreground looks like a couple of nice peppermills after it's dry... I cut it into blanks to allow them to dry faster. If you've got access to a kiln, that's even better. Some of the smaller ones will work for ornaments, salt vaults, coin bowls, game calls, etc.

If you end up cutting some of them into blanks, don't forget to save the cutoffs for guys like Burr who can get pens and casting material out of the extras. There's always waste when you break down logs into blanks, but that's just part of working with wood. I'll often take cutoffs and convert them into miniature HFs and ornaments. You don't need a monster for those... A couple of allen wrenches and you're set to pop. If you want to see some excellent minis, check out the Australianburls.com gallery... That guy does phenomenal small scale stuff(and some really awesome bigger stuff, too). For mid sized forms, a little cold rolled steel and a few bucks worth of HSS cutters will allow you to do a whole lot of hollowing... Vaughn McMillan has a nice little tutorial on making homemade hollowing tools on his site and the WTA site.

[steven carter]

Ken,

No expert on cutting them here either, but at least you are not dealing with just one burl, you have enough inventory to try a method, and if that doesn't work, learn from it and try somehting different on the next one. I suspect that a little experimentation will soon make you the expert on how to cut these suckers up. I look forward to seeing how you proceed.

[Michael Menzli]

Cool Ken, Ill def. have to play around a bit..wood is so fascinating to me. Thanks on the timber info. Im in a major timber/logging corridor of sorts. Trucks come from all over the state to a GA Pacific chip mill. I cross paths with cutting all the time, perhaps I can track down the owner or operator of these operations and follow your lead. I think a ton of these burls are viewed as waste as the chipper only likes em long and straight.

[Ken Hill]

Gotcha David.

Here are 3 of the big ones. There are 5 all together, only 3 fit on the tail gate

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The cherry crotch is pretty awesome, cant wait to see all that it offers. There was another large crotch there but it had a bark inclusion right through the middle the entire width of the crotch. I will cut that one on the next trip but know it wont produce one large blank, but there will be plenty to each side of it

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[Ken Hill]

Cool Ken, Ill def. have to play around a bit..wood is so fascinating to me. Thanks on the timber info. Im in a major timber/logging corridor of sorts. Trucks come from all over the state to a GA Pacific chip mill. I cross paths with cutting all the time, perhaps I can track down the owner or operator of these operations and follow your lead. I think a ton of these burls are viewed as waste as the chipper only likes em long and straight.

I go through GA and ive seen a few of those large operations. Boy if ya like pine thats the place haha!

[David E Keller]

Ken, you probably already know this, but I'll pass it along anyway. My best luck with crotches has been for trees with about a 60 degree angle symmetrically centered between two branches. Narrower gaps seem to have a lot of bark inclusions as you've shown. Wider gaps seem to lack the figure that we're all after when we grab those chunks. Asymmetrical crotches are kind of a crap shoot in my limited experience. Of course, trees vary, so it's by no means a hard and fast rule.

[Jim Burr]

See what you miss when you work 7 out of 8? I see another Fed Ex in my future!!

[Hayes Rutherford]

David, a light bulb went off wen you mentioned the limb angle, I would fully agree.

[Ken Hill]

Never paid attention to the angle but I do know exactly what you are saying David. This crotch was huge, and it has feathering but the black in it to me will help offset what it may lack. I really wanted to take my big saw and my mill and cut that crotch for use as an end or coffee table slab. There are more there, we just couldnt get to everything in a day. We are going to give it a month so the coyotes clean up all the deer carcasses dumped by hunters, then get in there and hunt and gather wood as we come across it. I still plan on going back in in a week or so IF the weather allows it. They are do for 6 inches of snow today and if it stays cold, the wood thats down will have to wait until early spring. We are going to try to get a truck with a winch in there as well, there are a few big crotches just over the hill that got pushed by the dozer. I saw a few Ash, Oak and ofcourse more Cherry in just this one landing area. The loggers just finished another block so we need to get to that landing and see what they left for us

[Ken Hill]

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Ok, 1st 2 are cut up. These are two that were in the back of the truck that werent easily seen in the other pic

[Jim Burr]

Ken, you probably already know this, but I'll pass it along anyway. My best luck with crotches has been for trees with about a 60 degree angle symmetrically centered between two branches. Narrower gaps seem to have a lot of bark inclusions as you've shown. Wider gaps seem to lack the figure that we're all after when we grab those chunks. Asymmetrical crotches are kind of a crap shoot in my limited experience. Of course, trees vary, so it's by no means a hard and fast rule.

I didn't know that! Would a lesser angle also reduce wind shake?

[Ken Hill]

1st rough out done. 11 x 2 x 1 inch for now.

I am leaving the deep recesses in the outside, but I do not know if I should just AS them or CA them. They are deep enough that reaching in and sanding away any CA will be all but impossible.

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[Brian Effinger]

Some guys have all the luck! :D Nice haul. That bowl looks really promising. I can't wait to see it finished.

[Ken Hill]

I just roughed out another bowl from a piece of cherry from this haul. No crotch, just a plain blank and I will be grabbing more next run. The larger cherry sure has some grain and color in it...might be plain but man is it saaawweeettt!

[Brian Effinger]

I just roughed out another bowl from a piece of cherry from this haul. No crotch, just a plain blank and I will be grabbing more next run. The larger cherry sure has some grain and color in it...might be plain but man is it saaawweeettt!

Cherry has to be one of my favorite woods - even the plain stuff is beautiful, especially turned. I just wish we had those burls up here that you guys have down in WV, and near Baxter in DE. I'm always keeping my eye out though. :)

[Ken Hill]

I will be in Unadilla twice I think this year Brian.....I can set a few pieces aside for ya

[Nate Davey]

Careful with that cherry and cherry burl Ken, you won't want to turn Oak after that. :D

[Ken Hill]

I tell ya what Nate, this stuff turns like butter. I havent done much cherry since last year and I know I have much better tool control now etc....but big fluffy shavings just are too much fun:D

Rough out # 3 is sealed and drying LOL

[bobby lynn]

Loved the bear picture Ken.

[Ken Hill]

Thanks Bobby Lynn. I have a few calls in to the right people (I hope) that may get me permission to document a few of the Tagging operations this winter with the state. It would be pretty cool to climb in a den and get some shots! Wife already said i can NOT bring a cub home LOL!

One of the pieces I cut today has HF writin all over it. The piece will be around 8 inches long and stands about 6 to 8 inches tall. Too much of the burl would be wasted turning a bowl from it. Holler if someone wants it!

[Johnny England]

Holler if someone wants it!

Sure wish we lived closer it each other!

[David E Keller]

Great work on the roughout, Ken! I'd paint the whole thing with anchor seal... Looks like you'll have some decisions to make about bark voids when you get a chance to finish turn it. If I were closer, I'd bring some homemade hollowing tools over and help you whip one of those things into hollowform submission. PM sent.

[James Hamilton]

You'll have to split that wood down a bit if you want to burn it in the stove! :D

[Ken Hill]

Thats what I did David, now to wait it out!

James, im so tired of splitting wood this year the mere thought of it has my hands hurting lol!

[Baxter Smith]

Lots of great pictures Ken. The wood doesn't look too bad either!

[Brian Effinger]

I will be in Unadilla twice I think this year Brian.....I can set a few pieces aside for ya

That's OK Ken. Thanks for the offer, anyway. If it's Unadilla, NY, that's got to be 4 hours away from Buffalo.

[Russell Eaton]

Ken, I had a diversion from the Cherry. I did turn a maple burl that wrapped around the entire log. All I did was split it through the middle and then cut it down so it would fit between centers. I rough turned 1 bowl and it is soaking. After that I took the other side and roughed a hollow form. The wind was blowing so hard the power went out before I could get it hollowed. I will tell you this, I bought a used Monster rig from a member here and you WILL love it. Send me your email address and I will email you some phone pics. I don't know how to post them from my phone.

[Ken Hill]

bkperformance@frontier.com