# Large burly RFBE log/burl drying



## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

I got this log from a tree service recently while I was picking up some walnut logs. The guy has a large pile of em ready to be burned. He said I could get as many of them as I wanted before the first snow up here. I got the thing home and quickly whacked off a burl and put in in the lathe. I didnt really stop to consider drying of a burl. Is there a good way to dry them to prevent checking other than anchorseal? Is there any preferred way to harvest them from the log? and last question is about csm. This thing is way to big for my band mill so that leaves my chainsaw to get the job done. As you can see the log is very irregular in shape. Is there a particular brand of csm that will be better to mill something like this? my goal is to get the burls off the outside for turning and then maybe a slab or two. I would like to make the rest into turning blanks from the red center part.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I would quarter it with the chainsaw then mill it. Burl of any species is highly valuable, and that is not a joke. It'll bring more in pen blanks than anything else. When calculating in terms of BF, I've fetched obscene prices just by re-sawing into pen blanks. 

I'd go ahead and powerwash the bark off no matter what you do. 







.


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## RedArrow (Jan 19, 2011)

I wanna see the inside of that!


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

GREAT FIND !
First thing I see is your bark is already loose or some is gone, which means the tree has been down and drying a bit. Thats a start.

Mine were sliced in 6" to 8" thick slices and stickered to dry. Whatever cuts you use, leave a lot of excess for later to machine down.
Mine are oak and one is 4ft x 2.5ft x 8" and some smaller. 5 slices and a number of small chunks. They came from a 7ft wide burl. I wish ther was a means to save that original 7ft piece bur we had issues manhandling the smaller pieces, and the chainsaw only had (I say only) a 4 ft bar.
It seems no matter what you do, due to the grain and lack of consistency in it's direction, things want to move. I had some smaller thin cuts that I thought were dry and they started curling and bending up on me. The thicker small chunks wanted to crack. My big thick slabs are hanging in there and I'm ready to cut them in 3" slabs, but am afraid when I do so, they will want to move on me as well. I want a few slabs for table tops. 

If others would chime in, I'm interested in keeping the upcoming newly cut pieces stable. I considered backing em with plywood, but was rightly talked out of that. Next consideration is some hardwood 2x4's screwed to the back side for stability.
But I'm (as well as greg4269ub) interested in how to cut/cure these babies.

redarrowarcher
Burl is wild looking from a grain standpoint. Pretty stuff, and I understand how the value could be quite high.


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

I finally got around to milling these beasts! It would have been done earlier bit my chainsaw was stolen and it took a while for the insurance company to pay up so I could get a new one. I only worked on the little one (48-50" across only 25" long) I had 5-6 little rfbe logs that I cut up as well. I made everything into turning blanks got some pretty big chunks. I'm gonna cover every piece with anchor seal and let em sit in those crates for a month or two under a tarp then bring em back into the shop for final sizing. I got 4 large burls off the one side one the size of a volly ball! The opposite side is all curly some of the curls are as big as your finger. That is also under a tarp but will be put onto the band mill later in the week before waxing. All and all we did 5 heaping crates of blanks today got some spalted maple, honey locust, cherry, and walnut. Most of it was small logs cut short then halves. I will be doing lots of waxing this week.

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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Nice burl you got. Glad your able to work on it now.


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## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

nice wood.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Now ya got er cut up and drying time is long.
These will hold moisture for years.
I'm too impatient to wait long term and speed dry em, but much is lost in doing so. It's a trade off I suppose.
The larger pieces you have are similar to ones I have in oak burl. I'm due to cut them into 3" thick slabs for table tops.
I have a similar stash in 10 year old oak. It still has a touch of moisture, because they were sitting outside.

Good luck with them and it will be nice to see photo's when sliced and waxed down. Remember, the wax will hold in the moisture longer, which is desirable (but not to me, being impatient)


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

The plan is to wax any exposed surface now let em sit for a few months. Anything that is gonna crack will do so pretty rapidly. I will then resew and wax & pop em on the kiln for another few months to dry. What ever hasn't cracked by then will go up for sale.

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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Might work.
Burl seems to have a mind of it's own, and doesn't dry like straight grained wood. You can expect some loss but you realize that.


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

Box elder on general is finicky to dry. Every time I have milled it I have lost some to cracking. I have 2 large crates full if these chunks it wouldn't surprise me if half of them checked. I rough turned a chunk of this Burl right after I got the log last fall and with in 24 hrs the grain rings were separating. The ones that check will get cut into smaller blanks for pens or bottle stoppers. I will keep posting pics as the process unfolds. I should get the rest of what I started milled this week. Once I get it processed I will start on the big one.

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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

I finished the other 2 chunks of the Burl yesterday. Unfortunately there were an ass load of grubs in it so i lost a good chunk to them. My largest burl (basketball size) was all hollow in the middle due to grubs. The shell is very hard and the deepest red i have ever seen from a boxelder. Here are a couple of pix. It it still good for turning purposes? I cant find the post but i remember a turner saying oak burls that are hollow are still good for turning. I got a little waxing to do yet then i am onto the large log. More pix to come for sure

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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

That piece second from the bottom sure has lots of pretty curl. That's some great looking wood all of it. :thumbsup:


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

I was a bit in awe from that one tt. Mainly because it was cut with the chainsaw. I had never used a ripping chain before. it came out great can't wait to cut some logs using the csm.

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