Burl Question

[Paul Andrews]

Need advise on how to remove the bark from the outside of a large burl?

[Mike Vickery]

I have never done it but most say a power washer is the way to go.

[George Guadiane]

How big?
What kind of burl?
How tight is the bark on it?
My best bet (without knowing that) is to say turn it first and use a dental pick to chip out any of the stubborn stuff.

[Kevin McPeek]

..... turn it first and use a dental pick to chip out any of the stubborn stuff.

Thats what I did, sort of, and it's still a PITA. I roughed it then worked on the bark as the piece was drying. Sure I worked on stuff that just got turned away but I didn't use lathe time on it. I also used a grout brush to scrub the last bits clean.

[Paul Andrews]

The burl in question is currently about 36" x 32" and will have to be trimmed to fit my lathes capacity, 30". What I want to try is to turn the wood from the inside and leave the outside natural, with the bark removed. I saw a similar piece in a gallery and all the spines and natural wood looked stunning.

How big of a pressure washer would be required?

Thanks for the input.

Paul

[Paul Engle]

I did a small winged burl 6x10 and used a dental pick / small blade screw driver to remove the bark to leave the points, some came off easy and some still on as I wanted to leave as much of the points as I could. The burl was maple and well dried so they were pretty tight. I chucked it up first and used the spindle index to hold as I worked around it. still got a few bleeders ( blood thinners) on my hands tho....

[John Shuk]

Power washer with orbital spray tip to avoid drilling holes.