# How do I use/sell Burlwood?



## roberthathaway7

Trying to make a little book money for school and keep in touch with my manhood, I've been cutting up some firewood for sale. I have ran across some burl wood from Box Elders etc, and I have seen burl wood bring good money in some places like ebay.. How can I harness this burl wood I find to make a little cash? First of all, I want to keep some and make something out of it like knife handles and maybe a gun stalk, but how do I prepare it to be sold? Do I dry it first or just cut it up into blocks and sell it green? help??


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## mdlbldrmatt135

Burls need to dry slow as they do tend to crack. Most places that deal with them dunk the pieces in a wax.


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## Streamwinner

mdlbldrmatt135 said:


> Burls need to dry slow as they do tend to crack. Most places that deal with them dunk the pieces in a wax.


Agreed. I just milled about 15 cherry burls and coated all sides with wax. This is what I found is most recommended after a lot of research I've done on exactly what you're asking. I'll let them sit for about 6 months before using them. I have no idea what they're worth monetarily.


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## TexasTimbers

roberthathaway7 said:


> . . . I want to keep some and make something out of it like knife handles . . .


You're on the right track. Knife makers eat it up. Handle blanks that go on the side of a metal handle are called "knife scales". A piece of wood that makes up the handle itself, like on a custom Bowie Knife is just referred to as a handle. eBay is a good place to sell Box Elder burl because there's a few guys, one in particular who dyes and stabilizes woods and resells it mostly as knife scales (because they are so profitable) but also as pistol grip blanks. 

eBay can actually be a good place in your situation. Once you sell to them a couple times you can begin to sell to them outside of feeBay. Seal them as suggested, or go ahead and resaw them, or some of them, into knife scales & pistol grip blanks, and wax heavily and place them all in a heavy grocery bag. Check them every week to make sure they aren't mildewing in the bag. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. They will dry out with much less wreckage that way. Just don't let sunlight hit them and don't keep them in low humidity areas. 

A good standard knife scale blank is 3/8T x 1.5W x 5L. A standard pistol grip measures 2T x 3.5W x 6L. These are the dimensions many of the craftsmen want, but not the only dimensions so don't cut up all your stock into these dimensions only. If you do resaw while green, cut them oversized by a smidgen. Hope this helps.


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## roberthathaway7

*wax?*

Great! Thanks, i feel like i might get somewhere with this.. But this wax..so from the field, you're saying I would all in one day cut the tree down, discoover burl wood, cut it up into the sizes you suggest, dip them in parrafin wax, then let them sit for six months or so.. or do I let the chunk dry first then cut it up and cover those pieces with wax until i sell them? I guess I'm lost on what point to cut them up and wax them?


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## Streamwinner

roberthathaway7 said:


> Great! Thanks, i feel like i might get somewhere with this.. But this wax..so from the field, you're saying I would all in one day cut the tree down, discoover burl wood, cut it up into the sizes you suggest, dip them in parrafin wax, then let them sit for six months or so.. or do I let the chunk dry first then cut it up and cover those pieces with wax until i sell them? I guess I'm lost on what point to cut them up and wax them?


Cut and seal in the same day, regardless of the sizes you're cutting. It only takes a few hours for the wood to start cracking. If you mill the burls into small sizes like TT stated, they'll take much less time to dry.


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## buroak

An added question. What is the best or recomended wax to use to seal wood??


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## TexasTimbers

Anchorseal is the most popular. 

I prefer Bailey's blend.


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## cowboysteve Yoy

*To Robert H: 411*

Hey, if you can find out anything about selling burls, particularly raw pieces not yet dried, please let me know. I too, have maple burls galore, and no idea how to go about selling them. Thanks. Oh, and good luck with that whole manhood thing!


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## aardvark

It's not 6 months for large chunks.
It's dependent on size. 
I have some that are years old in oak.
Box Elder is very unstable.
It's kinda why they cost so much. Prep time and instability play a role.


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## Brian Baley

cowboysteve Yoy said:


> Hey, if you can find out anything about selling burls, particularly raw pieces not yet dried, please let me know. I too, have maple burls galore, and no idea how to go about selling them. Thanks. Oh, and good luck with that whole manhood thing!


Well... I can come to you and relieve you of some of them ;-)


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