How do you make the most out of a burl?

[Chris Gunsolley]

This question is for those of you whom have experience in making the most out of burls when making bowls from them...

I just picked up this load of large boxelder burl:

1 Boxelder Burl Load.jpg 2 Boxelder Burl 2.jpg

My goal is to make large bowls out of it, and in the process incorporate as much of the red streaks as I can into the bowls. So, I'm contemplating how to take full advantage of them. I have my own ideas on the matter, which I will share below, but I'm playing tug-of-war with them. Of course one thing that's come to mind is to consult my fellow, experienced forum members and see what they have to say!

Basically, my question for you is, How do you generally approach making the most of burls?

Basically, the two questions I'm contemplating primarily are whether to orient the bowl so that the bark is at the base or at the rim. Ideally, I'd end up with natural edge burl bowls with maximal red in them. However, in examining the logs, it is clear that there may be tradeoffs in that, as most of the red seems to be toward the bark edge. So, if I were to let go of the idea of a natural edge and instead orient the base toward the bark, I may end up with more red in the bowl's surface area. In that case, I'd end up with more red in the bowl overall, and the deepest reds toward the bottom of the bowl, but the form of the bowl wouldn't be as intriguing as it would be had I incorporated a natural edge.

So, the dilemma I am in, it appears, is that I can have natural edge bowls with some red in them--perhaps a great amount in some cases... Or, I can have non-natural edge bowls with more and deeper red in them, especially toward the bottoms. Of course, I could do some of each, depending factors such as where the deepest red is located or the shape of the bark's surface, for example. However, all of this thinking on the topic has got me wondering if you'd share the lessons you've perhaps learned in taking full advantage of a burl. So, do you personally have a preferred method based on your experience?...

Do you orient the bowl in the burl so that the rim is toward the center, or the bark?

Or, do you instead orient the bowl in the burl so that the bowl's base is toward the bark edge?

If you have either of the above preferred approaches, why do you approach a burl that way?

If you have a different approach, would you please share that in this thread and explain why you do so?

[Tom Albrecht]

I see that 80 some people have viewed your query and not replied. With that much to choose from most folks might be thinking like the toad... "blah". Pick up one of those chunks, mount it on the lathe and start turning. After your first try at it, you'll probably have a good idea how to proceed and answer all your questions about that good looking stash. Or, you could just give it away...

[Reed Gray]

Getting the most out of a burl piece to me, means coring. Since they generally have a lot of voids in them, they are not suitable for utility bowls, and are more common as artistic pieces. This usually means natural edge pieces. You can turn standard bowls out of them, but a lot of the burl can be lost.

robo hippy

[Chris Gunsolley]

I see that 80 some people have viewed your query and not replied. With that much to choose from most folks might be thinking like the toad... "blah". Pick up one of those chunks, mount it on the lathe and start turning. After your first try at it, you'll probably have a good idea how to proceed and answer all your questions about that good looking stash. Or, you could just give it away...

Thanks for the reply, Tom. I do suppose it would be easier to respond on how to make the most of one piece. I'm just wondering if the bowl turners here have a general approach to it, and if so, what that may be.

Thanks for the compliment on the stash as well. There is actually a ton of it left at the site that I got this from, and unfortunately, I'm just out of space for wood. My 3 1/2 car garage is full, wood is stacked along its sides, and half of my driveway is full, leaving just enough room for our vehicles. So, speaking of giving it away, if anyone is near Appleton, Wisconsin, I'd be glad to give you the address to the site at which I got this from. I left plenty with deep red streaks. I just did my best to get the best of it with the alotted space I have left for wood storage.

[Chris Gunsolley]

Getting the most out of a burl piece to me, means coring. Since they generally have a lot of voids in them, they are not suitable for utility bowls, and are more common as artistic pieces. This usually means natural edge pieces. You can turn standard bowls out of them, but a lot of the burl can be lost.

robo hippy

Thanks for the insight, Reed. I'll core what I can out of each blank with my Oneway Easy Core.

I was leaning toward natural edge bowls on all of it, and that's what I was eager to do. However, when I saw all that deep red burl further out toward the bark edge, it got me wondering how that would look on the bottom of the bowl where it would be spread across a larger surface area on the bowl. Still, perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised at what lies deeper in the wood. I do think with the interesting shapes on the bark edge, it may be tragic not to take advantage of that randomness on the natural edge. So, I may be having to choose between more red in the bowl versus a more intriguing profile. Intriguing color or intriguing profile? On the other hand, if I do turn them live edge and the red does turn out to be toward the rim only, those red streaks would still make a wild accent for the rim, and I'm sure something captivating would still lie at the bottom of the bowl...

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for the reply, Tom. I do suppose it would be easier to respond on how to make the most of one piece. I'm just wondering if the bowl turners here have a general approach to it, and if so, what that may be. These are my first burls, so I'm looking forward to learning from it.

Thanks for the compliment on the stash as well. There is actually a ton of it left at the site that I got this from, and unfortunately, I'm just out of space for wood. My 3 1/2 car garage is full, wood is stacked along its sides, and half of my driveway is full, leaving just enough room for our vehicles. If anyone is near Appleton, Wisconsin, I'd be glad to give you the address. I left plenty with deep red streaks. I just did my best to get the best of it with the allotted space I have left for wood storage.

I'm the new guy who can barely spell "turning". But if there's a ton of it left, why not put some of what you've brought home up for sale in our Classified section? (It's only $6 to become a Contributor and be able to make use of that forum.) Then quickly go back and grab another load to fill up your garage for yourself. I'll bet it won't last long here if you offer any for sale. Or just give some away for free+shipping to SMC members. That would be a heck of a nice thing to do and might come back in kind some day.

Just an idea. It's such lovely wood it seems a shame not to distribute it, if you can.

Enjoy that wonderful stash, whatever you decide to do. It's a wonderful find!

Fred

[Chris Gunsolley]

I'm the new guy who can barely spell "turning". But if there's a ton of it left, why not put some of what you've brought home up for sale in our Classified section? (It's only $6 to become a Contributor and be able to make use of that forum.) Then quickly go back and grab another load to fill up your garage for yourself. I'll bet it won't last long here if you offer any for sale. Or just give some away for free+shipping to SMC members. That would be a heck of a nice thing to do and might come back in kind some day.

Just an idea. It's such lovely wood it seems a shame not to distribute it, if you can.

Enjoy that wonderful stash, whatever you decide to do. It's a wonderful find!

Fred

I went there this morning and it's a Sunday, so who knows what's left by now. It's too bad my trailer couldn't accommodate more of it. If my schedule allows, I may go back tomorrow to see what's left.

[Pat Scott]

I'm jealous with what you have and how much you got! Some day I hope to be as lucky. If I ran across a score like that I'd empty the trailer and go back for 2nd's and 3rd's.

But I agree with the others, you have enough right now why not turn two pieces oriented each way and see which one you like best? Take some pictures for the rest of us too.

[Wes Ramsey]

That's such beautiful wood! It does have a shelf life, so seal it and keep it dry. I recommend leaving it in the biggest pieces you can until you're ready to use it. Actually good advice for any wood, but with BE the color will fade and it will be harder to know where the color is and how you want to orient the piece without removing some wood first. It also tends to get buggy so use it before that happens and maybe keep it away from other woods.

I still have a mess of BE myself I need to work up...

[Tom Albrecht]

Thoughtful reply, thanks-- wish I was closer.