Guys,

A year or so ago, I found and dug up a bigleaf maple burl. Not
knowing just what to do with it, and being in a rush, I half-buried it
in some damp sawdust (to keep it from drying and splitting), covered
it in plastic, and left it outside. And promptly forgot about it. I
just dug it up, and it doesn't look too much worse for the wear,
excpet for an insect infestation under the bark.

My questions a

1) What can I do with this? It occurred to me to make a bowl (or
two), but this would effectively turn most of the wood into sawdust.
I also thought some bandsawn boxes would be nice. Any other
suggestions?

2) How do I prepare this wood? Saw it into chunks, coat in paraffin,
and let dry a few years?

3) Assuming I want to keep a natural 'edge' on this, how is this
surface typically cleaned/finished? Does one use sandblasting, or ???

Some pics of the burl:

http://www.msnusers.com/burl/shoebox...hoto&PhotoID=6
http://www.msnusers.com/burl/shoebox...hoto&PhotoID=8

Thanks,

Kelly

"Kelly E Jones" wrote in message
...
Guys,

A year or so ago, I found and dug up a bigleaf maple burl. Not
knowing just what to do with it, and being in a rush, I half-buried it
in some damp sawdust (to keep it from drying and splitting), covered
it in plastic, and left it outside. And promptly forgot about it. I
just dug it up, and it doesn't look too much worse for the wear,
excpet for an insect infestation under the bark.

It looks like it could be a nice burl. You might try selling it on ebay or
whatever. These are valuable, if you spend the labor cutting this into
manageable, shippable sizes. Otherwise look for a burl dealer.


My questions a

1) What can I do with this? It occurred to me to make a bowl (or
two), but this would effectively turn most of the wood into sawdust.
I also thought some bandsawn boxes would be nice. Any other
suggestions?

You can make bowls with very little waste. Do a google search for
"bowlsaver" - ah never mind - just go he
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/ca...wl_coring.html Burl is valuable
enough to invest in equipment to maximize the yield.


2) How do I prepare this wood? Saw it into chunks, coat in paraffin,
and let dry a few years?

Sawing it up will help lessen the loss to checking. It certainly needs to
be coated in sealer whether you saw it or not. Hopefully it is not too late
for that - cannot tell much from the photos. Parafin works very good, or
you can get green wood sealer to paint on instead of messing with melting
wax. I think wax does a better job at least on smaller pieces.


3) Assuming I want to keep a natural 'edge' on this, how is this
surface typically cleaned/finished? Does one use sandblasting, or ???

Power washing. Don't sand blast unless that is a look you are going for.
Search "natural edge turning" for ideas on what to make.

This page has a nice example of what can be done with that burl:
http://www.bowlmakerinc.com/


Some pics of the burl:

http://www.msnusers.com/burl/shoebox...hoto&PhotoID=6
http://www.msnusers.com/burl/shoebox...hoto&PhotoID=8

Thanks,

Kelly


Welcome. Try over at rec.crafts.woodturning for more helpful folks.
--
********
Bill Pounds
http://www.billpounds.com