Bark Removal

[Brian Brown]

What is the best way to remove bark from box elder burl pieces. The burl I got recently ( www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=89426 ) was beaten up some by the handling machinery, and needs to come off some of the pieces. Tough stuff. It won't just pull off. It would be easier to seal if the bark were missing in some places. I have heard of using a power washer before, but don't know if it is a good idea. So, what do I do when my bark is worse than my might? ;) (sorry, just couldn't help myself)

[curtis rosche]

use a chisel and pry off, use a pressure washer, from what it sounds like , because of the machine damage you arent going to keep the natural spikes and stuff, so you could go after it with an axe, or take your chainsaw and use it like a dato, make multiple cuts, or just beat it with a hammer till it loosens, i have done all of these and they worked.

[Ron Ainge]

I find the bark on Box Elder comes off real fast if you just tap on it a bit with a small hammer. The cambin layer is quite easy to get to release on green wood and on dried Box Elder you can normally pick it off with your fingers. Gool luck and I hope you find a lot of red flame in it,

[Curt Fuller]

Brian, I've used dental tools to pick it off but if you let it get good and dry a lot of it just pops off by itself. Sometimes it will even fly off on the lathe. Because the wood has such a great, unique surface under the bark, you want to be careful picking it off so you don't break off all the little spikes.

[curtis rosche]

curt, remember he said it has machine marks from handling, to i dont think he is going for delicate and keeping spikes. but i could be wrong,

[Brian Brown]

The bark on this stuff is really thick, and a lot of the spikes are intact. For proof I refer to the ones I put through my hand last night. Ouch! The bark isn't torn up completely, but the road rash is bad enough to look bad.

[Jon Lanier]

When I'm taking bark off (usually to help save chain saw blade) I use a hatchet... kinda like a small chisel tool.