What would you do with this ?

[Tom Cadwalader]

I acquired this large maple burl about 2 years ago. I sealed it up with Anchor Seal and left in my woodpile until today. I pulled all of the bark off. ( it was all but off already ) and hosed it off.
The burl is about 20 " at the widest point. My lathe has a 16 " swing.
I am really undecided about what to do with this. I know I need to take a chainsaw to it at least one more time to get it to where I can handle it. But before I cut it again I need to come up with an idea about what to turn from it.
I typically turn bowls, platters, lidded boxes and have done a few southwest style vessels and an occasional vase.
So I am looking for some suggestions as to what I might get out of this monster,
The sealing and storage seems to have gone ok. It is rock solid and no signs of any checking on the ends. Though I am sure I'll find some light check marks on the ends of the log.

Any ideas ?

 

[James Seyfried]

I acquired this large maple burl about 2 years ago.
Any ideas ?

The best idea that I can come up with is the next time I'm at our cabin in Vanderbilt I could come over and acquire it from you. I have a 20" lathe.

I'm sure others with a lot more expertise and experience than I have will have better ideas for you.

 

[Bill Boehme]

The best idea that I can come up with is the next time I'm at our cabin in Vanderbilt I could come over and acquire it from you. I have a 20" lathe.

I'm sure others with a lot more expertise and experience than I have will have better ideas for you.

My lathe has a 25" swing so I should "help". Seriously, don't think in terms of how big, but instead think of how best to make use of it. One big turning wastes a lot of good wood. Several smaller things should be considered. After something had been made, nobody but you will know or care how it looked before you started. And, I'm sure that you already know that there is no such thing as a "right" way unless you have X-ray vision.

 

[john lucas]

Ditto what Bill said. I would cut off a smaller piece and try to see how the grain runs. Maybe make a box out of it. You could have probably 10 smaller vessels of some sort out of that if the figure inside is curly enough.

 

[Raul McCai]

Not being an expert turner, I lack a certain amount of (or species of) discretion that some on this forum possess.
Occasionally I envy it, but usually not.

I'd examine the block for a few minutes to see how best it might mount and turn.
Then I'd create a flat spot on the Jointer or Band saw and mount it on my lathe with a face plate and screws

Before mounting - If it were necessary, I'd take off the high spots ( getting closer to round-ish) with the band saw or a hand or chain saw.

The whole while I'd be digesting notions for a final shape which wouldn't (for me) come together until it was on the lathe and rotated by hand a few times.

Would I turn a tenon and then reverse the piece?
I dunno. I'd have to be there to speak to that.


I am a sucker for large hunks of lumber. I have what amounts to an almost irresistible impulse to see how big a piece I can spin and work. (I'm sure the DSM has a whole page dedicated to it) I did however, buy a lathe that can go very slowly and it has a cage. I got a helmet with a steel face protector too.

If you want to exceed the size of your lathe:
Can you rotate or run the head stock to the end of your lathe bed to turn things larger than the gap allows?
Is there a face plate mount on the other end of your head stock?

My first lathe (a 1940s Walker Turner, which I'm still trying to sell), has a face plate that mounts on the back of the head stock for exactly this application. Craftsman tube bed lathes did to. I use one as a 10" dual wheel bench grinder & Re-purposed the bed.
My PM 3250b lathe came with an extension which can be mounted well below the bed to let me have a little off set bed for such work. Just run the head stock down and POOF instant over size short bed. Some guys just fill a big-truck steel wheel with concrete and put a pole in the wet concrete for their off-set-out-board tool support. God bless 'em, they've got more nerve than I.

 

[robo hippy]

It almost looks to me like the burl is 3 different lobes. I would try to get bowls from each one, taking the bigger center one first, then seeing what the smaller ones look like. The outside composition does not look like the spiked type that I am used to seeing out here, which has all sorts of eyes in it. It kind of looks like lava flows, so, I can't really guess what it will look like on the inside. I had some oak burl some years back, and some cherry also that was the lava flow type, and couldn't get anything solid from them. The black color surprises me. Some times the maple will mold as it dries but that is more grey. It doesn't look like spaulting either. I would probably start by cutting off the top and bottom of the log first, see what the grain looks like, then separate the lobes.

robo hippy

 

[hockenbery]

You can't turn back the clock and turn it while fresh.

Hopefully you have a solid area to mount on the lathe.
It looks a bit punky but I can't tell from the photo. Maple in humid areas doesn't have a long shelf life.
It may have some nice spalting and still be solid enough to turn. The time window from nicely spalled to mushy is often a only a month or so.

I use a flat screw driver as my turn ability meter if I can push it into the wood the depth of the blade I don't turn it.
One part may be rather solid with other part mush. So check it out .

If it is punky I would suggest using it for smaller items ornament balls, boxes, bottle stoppers.
A bottle stopper flying across the room is like just a moment of interest and 60 pound block of wood flying across the room could be the last thing you see

Work safely
Have fun
Al

 

[Tom Cadwalader]

Condition

I am pretty sure the wood is still pretty solid. The black color is what was under the bark. Kind of a black dirt. Anywhere that I scraped it off, the wood was good and not stained.
If there is spalting, that would be a pleasant surprise. I think?
I have to go, out of town for a week. Once I get back, getting this on the lathe will be a priority.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Brent English (Robust Lathes) brought a lot of wood to SWAT and there were some massive cherry burls. Being basically frugal, I went for some less expensive silver leaf maple and box elder. One of the pieces needs the corners knocked off before I will be able to turn it over the bed. I'm hoping for at least one coring.



I've never turned cherry nor have I ever seen a cherry burl before. Maybe next year if I bring my pickup truck.

 

[Jamie Straw]

Black under bark...

I am pretty sure the wood is still pretty solid. The black color is what was under the bark. Kind of a black dirt. Anywhere that I scraped it off, the wood was good and not stained.
If there is spalting, that would be a pleasant surprise. I think?
I have to go, out of town for a week. Once I get back, getting this on the lathe will be a priority.

I picked up a maple tree-fall this summer that had that same kind of black ... residue?... on it, feels like dirt, looks like pure organic "stuff" -- but the tree is solid underneath. IMHO, spalting is a pleasant surprise, and I've found our Big Leaf Maple can last awhile once spalting starts, as opposed to alder, which nosedives rapidly. Depends on what conditions it's living/lying in of course.

Have you turned or otherwise worked spalted wood before? Be sure to wear a respirator, you don't want that stuff in your lungs.

 

[Tom Cadwalader]

The best idea that I can come up with is the next time I'm at our cabin in Vanderbilt I could come over and acquire it from you. I have a 20" lathe.

I'm sure others with a lot more expertise and experience than I have will have better ideas for you.

If you're coming to acquire it you'll need a tractor with a front loader. That's how I got into my truck.
I can just roll it. I can't begin to lift it

Vanderbilt.....small world.

 

[Phil Vetra]

I would turn a natural edge bowl so if you sell it you can get the best price for it. If you know somebody with a coring set up you may get a second smaller bowl. if it has a really nice grain who knows how much you can get. This is the shape that you could get with that burl.
I had a small Yellow Cedar natural edge bowl on a table that lasted only 20 minutes at our Arts Alive fest last week...it had the wildest grain in it. The lady picked it up and never put it down. I did get a couple of pictures before she escaped.

 

[Tom Cadwalader]

Very nice bowl

I would turn a natural edge bowl so if you sell it you can get the best price for it. If you know somebody with a coring set up you may get a second smaller bowl. if it has a really nice grain who knows how much you can get. This is the shape that you could get with that burl.
I had a small Yellow Cedar natural edge bowl on a table that lasted only 20 minutes at our Arts Alive fest last week...it had the wildest grain in it. The lady picked it up and never put it down. I did get a couple of pictures before she escaped.

View attachment 8720View attachment 8721

The bowl looks to be maybe 3 inches deep? I agree that my burl would make a similar shape. From a couple different sides. I have a coring system so I could get at least 2 out of a slice made off one of the sides. I would have to study it long and hard to see which one would yield a bowl like that and still leave some wood for something else.