While cutting honey locust today one section had a huge ball (forget what they call those) on the side of it. Thought maybe I better cut it off clean so one of my friends on here can tell me if it would make a good bowl or something? Its over a foot thick and wood looks and feels solid all the way through. I know its green, but it must weigh 80 pounds at present. What do you guys think?
Believe it's called a burl...not sure what causes it, but have a couple from oak trees this year. Kept them in case I find someone who can use them.
As I posted in another thread on this in the past, my cousin makes bowls of them on his lathe in his wood shop. He's always hunting for them.
I've made some trim out of locust, stained up real nice but it's harder than woodpecker lips! I wonder what you'd do to keep that from checking while drying. You did the right thing saving it, now you need to connect it with the right wood turner.
Soak in PEG or denatured alcohol....the PEG will affect the final finish, but the denatured will evaporate w/out issues. Both replace the moisture in the wood, yes?
Not Steele Dan.... Poly Ethylene Glycol.... Sold as Pentacryl I believe, in wood working catalogs.....
Yeah, PEG? The only thing someone told me was he soaked his logs in anti freeze. He was carving bears & such out in Hamilton MT. I look for all my wood to check, one step closer to firewood
How to Limit Cracking when Drying Wood Discs Probably same for bulkier pieces too, as fuelrod cites the carving above.
You wouldn't happen to want to make a trade for a sawbuck would ya? The maple burl that I saved has developed a lot of checks in it. Im afraid if I don't do something with it soon it will be ruined. It's been drying for about a year. You could try sealing it but if you can find someone to give it to pretty quick I'm sure they will be very happy.
I wonder if that would dry stable enough to slab it into cutting board's? I don't recall ever seeing a burl on a locust before.
Anchorseal is a water based paraffin wax emulsion product used for sealing end grain/knots/burl etc of logs & milled lumber to slow the drying process.Applied by brush or spray,its milky white,similar to latex paint in consistency.It soaks in & does a better job than paint,roofing tar or other substances that merely lay on the surface. Dries almost clear,clean up is easy with warm water & soap.Sometimes just warm water only does the job. Normally sold in quart cans,it might still be found in plastic gallon jugs too,its been a while since I seen that packaging though. I'm sure there's other brand names of similar stuff,a little search can really pay off big time
Thanks gents, I have one local guy I am going to talk to that does bowls out of these, don't know him, but he is a friend of a friend. I'll keep everyone posted, but want to get this to someone to make something cool. If local guy doesn't work, would give to one of you guys for free, just need to find a way to get it to you.
Well it has been almost two years, and for those that might remember the giant honey locust burl I cut off and took to a woodworker 2 years go???? It was packed in rice for almost the whole two years, and is now dry enough to work. Getting platters made for each of my wood cutting buddies for Christmas. Will send pics as I get them. Should get six, two with a natural edge.
