Does anyone have any tips for turning redwood burl? It's very dry - been in the garage for years!
Paul
Paul
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redwood burl
- Thread starter foot sore
- Start date
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
I would turn it like any "soft" hardwood. It will tend to tear out if you don't have very sharp tools. Normally the annular rings are fairly far apart, so you need to be careful not to oversand. it will produce visible waves across the surface if you do.
burls
Paul, if your burl has easily distinguishable rings then what Steve has said is true. Most of the redwood burls that I've turned did not have said rings. They are there but not easily seen.
If your burl is of the type I've turned then turn the blank as fast as you can safely, don't be in a hurry--the smaller the "bite" the less chance of "oops," and always sharp tools. Redwood burl is one of my favorites to turn. It can be most beautiful.
Paul, if your burl has easily distinguishable rings then what Steve has said is true. Most of the redwood burls that I've turned did not have said rings. They are there but not easily seen.
If your burl is of the type I've turned then turn the blank as fast as you can safely, don't be in a hurry--the smaller the "bite" the less chance of "oops," and always sharp tools. Redwood burl is one of my favorites to turn. It can be most beautiful.
Thanks for the tips... the possible issue with sanding hadn't occured to me.
Steve, to get off-topic a little... what do you mean by "soft" hardwood? Redwood is a conifer - isn't that considered a softwood?
Steve, to get off-topic a little... what do you mean by "soft" hardwood? Redwood is a conifer - isn't that considered a softwood?
Yes, it's a conifer, which makes it technically a softwood, but it is a relatively hard wooded one. It's not a "Hardwood" but it turns like a soft hardwood. Specially the burls as they tend to have a higher proportion of the harder connective tissue (can't remember what it's called but it's the dark part of growth rings).
Dietrich
Dietrich
a bit of a tip
i'm gettting more and more sensitive to redwood, perhaps because of the extended exposure over the years. so i use my air-helmet when around the dust, clothe body-parts, and use the vac while turning.
also, i've found that clapham's sanding solution or liquid dish shop minimizes the tear-out and dust. http://www.jacquescoulombe.com/clapham's-compound.htm
be careful hand sanding because it is easy to get waves.
i'm gettting more and more sensitive to redwood, perhaps because of the extended exposure over the years. so i use my air-helmet when around the dust, clothe body-parts, and use the vac while turning.
also, i've found that clapham's sanding solution or liquid dish shop minimizes the tear-out and dust. http://www.jacquescoulombe.com/clapham's-compound.htm
be careful hand sanding because it is easy to get waves.
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Can anyone expand on that a little... I've never heard of chapham's sanding solution, and using liquid soap to minimize tear-out???
Thanks
though I have never tried it myself i have been told using liquid soap will let your tools move "smoother" across the grain, hopefully someone else can shed more light on this for both of us. I have turned alot of redwood burl and the only thing i would add to having sharp tools is that redwood can have soft spots so check often for wall thickness as you can go through alot of material fast. just for fun i turned redwood burl bark, supper soft but very unique finished vessel
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
Yup, I guess I just forget and lump it in with the deciduous trees for some reason.foot sore said:
So I guess it would be one of the harder softwoods then?
Turning redwood burl
Foot Sore,
I've turned a good bit of it as pens. I love the look of redwood burl and it finished great. I quit using it because I found that it broke too easily. I don't know that I would try to go thinner than 1/4". Any thinner and you are asking for a patch of soft wood to grab the gouge and suck it through the side of your work. Take your time, keep your tools sharp, and all the other great advice you've gotten here and if you survive, you'll be rewarded with a piece you'll be very proud to show off.
Foot Sore,
I've turned a good bit of it as pens. I love the look of redwood burl and it finished great. I quit using it because I found that it broke too easily. I don't know that I would try to go thinner than 1/4". Any thinner and you are asking for a patch of soft wood to grab the gouge and suck it through the side of your work. Take your time, keep your tools sharp, and all the other great advice you've gotten here and if you survive, you'll be rewarded with a piece you'll be very proud to show off.
Rounding out redwood burls
The redwood burl I work in pens I stabilize because it is so soft and porous. The posts talk out not sanding too much, yes free hand sanding will cause issues not acceptable to most. When I get a wood that seems to tear out badly and scraping just won’t do, I make a dowel up as long as needed for my lathes, usually as long as 16" and split it on the band saw down a little to make a sort of a paddle to use as a sanding paddle. I use the tool rest to stabilize the dowel and glue sand paper on both sides of the 1/4 “plywood X 2" wide X 3" long paddle I made. Some use just the dowel to (glue PSA) sandpaper on to and sand like that for smaller curves. Using the sand paper backed up with a small piece of plywood it acts like a turning tool by holding it to the rest and also holding the other end to not let the turning “sand out of round†it worked for me for a long time even on 24†X 18’ columns and small pens of softwoods not stabilized. Give it a try and see how it works for you.
If you get tired of sanding work, try the hard way to use a very sharply honed tool and let the bevel rub real tightly and make lite cuts with a good bit of presure on the tool and allow the bevel to support the cutting edge, this still works the best as talked about in the great book called "The Practical Woodturner" by Frank Pain first published in 1957. It was the very best book written about and I quote Frank here "cutting wood the way it prefers to be cut". I purchased my first copy in 1964 when I was 11 and still have it. I have other coppies out of print for sale on my web site. I also recomend looking for a copy that Sterling Press did on this book with the Revised & expanded by James A. Jacobson in 1990. It too is also out of print but it is found out there if I don't buy it first. It's ISBN 0-8069-6980-6 Keep looking because it is trully a treasure to find for a wood turner, it was for me and still is today!
Best regards,
David J. Borek
EarlofBurl@blankity-blanks.com
http://www.blankity-blanks.com
The redwood burl I work in pens I stabilize because it is so soft and porous. The posts talk out not sanding too much, yes free hand sanding will cause issues not acceptable to most. When I get a wood that seems to tear out badly and scraping just won’t do, I make a dowel up as long as needed for my lathes, usually as long as 16" and split it on the band saw down a little to make a sort of a paddle to use as a sanding paddle. I use the tool rest to stabilize the dowel and glue sand paper on both sides of the 1/4 “plywood X 2" wide X 3" long paddle I made. Some use just the dowel to (glue PSA) sandpaper on to and sand like that for smaller curves. Using the sand paper backed up with a small piece of plywood it acts like a turning tool by holding it to the rest and also holding the other end to not let the turning “sand out of round†it worked for me for a long time even on 24†X 18’ columns and small pens of softwoods not stabilized. Give it a try and see how it works for you.
If you get tired of sanding work, try the hard way to use a very sharply honed tool and let the bevel rub real tightly and make lite cuts with a good bit of presure on the tool and allow the bevel to support the cutting edge, this still works the best as talked about in the great book called "The Practical Woodturner" by Frank Pain first published in 1957. It was the very best book written about and I quote Frank here "cutting wood the way it prefers to be cut". I purchased my first copy in 1964 when I was 11 and still have it. I have other coppies out of print for sale on my web site. I also recomend looking for a copy that Sterling Press did on this book with the Revised & expanded by James A. Jacobson in 1990. It too is also out of print but it is found out there if I don't buy it first. It's ISBN 0-8069-6980-6 Keep looking because it is trully a treasure to find for a wood turner, it was for me and still is today!
Best regards,
David J. Borek
EarlofBurl@blankity-blanks.com
http://www.blankity-blanks.com