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California black oak burl

John Hicks

John Hicks

Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Messages
695
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973
Location
Shingletown CA
I got a hold of this California black oak burl. It is approx 3 ft wide and 3 ft long. About 70% is burl. I am wondering what, if anything, a burl like this is worth? A tree cutter dropped it off and asked what I thought it was worth. I told him I had no idea. It was around 300 lbs and green.

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I see people locally around here on facebook trying to sell their burls (maple, walnut, cherry usually) for upwards of $600 and most are about that size. Granted, their ask is not necessarily what they might get paid for it. Especially given our very rural area, I doubt they'd get that price locally, I imagine they are hoping some city slicker sees their ad and bites on it... Me, I might pay $50 to $100 for a burl like that , unless it was already well cut so I could see whats inside.. I'd count myself lucky if I made the money back out of local farmer's market sales.. I imagine in a bigger suburban area the burl might go for considerably more than $500
 
Every burl is a gamble, some of them have a lot of figure and plenty of solid wood to work with, other burls have voids and the
figure in the wood can be hit and miss. Until you cut into the burl you really won't know the quality and value of the piece.
 
"Never buy a pig in a poke..."

When I first started turning....I bought a couple of "burls"...They were mostly rotten our punky beyond use - and one was jus a grown over knot of where a limb was trimmed off a tree - and it was over grown - so it looked on the exterior to be very promising.
Never again for me!
 
If you look at the bottom side of the burl......there is a lot of rot ....center of the tree.
But, that does not mean that the top part is not a nice chunk of wood.
Love turning Black Oak wood.
Look at the burl and try and figure out what you would make from it. Can you sell what you make for more than the price you pay?
Wood cutters always think they have something that is worth a lot of money. Usually, it isn't.
 
I had guy try and sell me a burl based on what I was selling my turnings for. I said not thank you and told him to compare the cost of a framed canvas and a finished paint and then come back with a realistic price on the burl.
 
So far I've heard "I'll give you 50 because I might be able to use it". I'm cutting it open today. I'll post pictures. The same tree cutters are bringing some manzanita burls in a couple weeks; I've been told to bury them for a year.
 
I recall at one point when i was living in Northern CA hearing about people running around killing trees to take the burls to sell. It was a problem for forest management.
 
I was given a big madrone burl that was totally dried in a shop for 'years'. The outside looked spectacular, and no cracking. The inside was honey combed all the way through... You never know, but I am getting better at predicting....

robo hippy
 
Most green, whole burls are sold with a price per pound. Don't know any current rates, but have heard of rates between $0.25 - $0.50 per pound. Highly variable depending on species and region.

Since you are dealing with a local tree service rather than a burl merchant I might suggest something around $50 (for the big oak burl) to the tree guy(s) to at a minimum reimburse him for his time, and incentivise him to keep you in the loop for future harvests. Your deal with him could include a proviso that once you open up the burls, you would be willing to pay a premium for quality. Cash or completed turnings could be part of the premium you paid.
 
The fact that the fellow thought of you when he found the burl. Then loaded it up into his truck and drove to your place. If you want him to keep you in mind when he finds this sort of thing......It is worth something.......gas and beer money maybe. Usually the promise of a bowl made from it works.
 
I'd want to float that tree person a some $bucks as said above to have him come your way before the next guy! Cool burl - let us know how it turns out.

I had a tree cutting service owner give me a (to me) large cherry burl after I did some computer work for him, which is in my shed waiting for me to figure out what to do with it.
 
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