Just cut this silver maple burl !

[Robert Lindstadt]

I just cut this burl, it’s a fresh cut piece, so it’s wet. I want to rough out a bowl, but wondering the best way to put it on the lathe and which side would you mount? Start with the bark side or the cut side, wondering what you would do if you had it
I have a screw on faceplate, so I would start with that.

WWWWWW

 

[Bill Blasic]

Start with the cut side and then when turned around core it.

 

[Odie]

If you see highly figured areas, you will want to bring that out in the final turning.

It's easiest to use the flat side first, but there are times when you might want to do it the hard way!

Oh BTW, glad to see you are using a screw center faceplate. (Some call it a screw center chuck.)

=o=

 

[Dean Center]

Robert, I'm not familiar with your turning experience, so please forgive me if this is 'beneath you.'

Are you asking whether to turn it with a natural edge, i.e. bark side is the top, or in the conventional manner for a utility bowl, i.e. bark side is the bottom?
What size is your blank?
Is this wood 'valuable', such that you want to get as many bowls out of it as possible, and are considering coring?

If you mount it with a face plate or screw chuck, however the flat side is cut will determine the features that will be included and the quality of the finished bowl. Did you cut the blank, or recut the flat side, to suit your idea for the best possibly bowl? If someone else cut it, do you think they did a good job?
If you mount it between centers, you can adjust the orientation of the wood as you begin turning which allows you to get the best possible finished piece--not the biggest finished piece, but the best. To do this, your lathe and blank need to be a good match in size, and you have to be comfortable cutting wood-air-wood-air.

 

[Robert Lindstadt]

Robert, I'm not familiar with your turning experience, so please forgive me if this is 'beneath you.'

Are you asking whether to turn it with a natural edge, i.e. bark side is the top, or in the conventional manner for a utility bowl, i.e. bark side is the bottom?
What size is your blank?
Is this wood 'valuable', such that you want to get as many bowls out of it as possible, and are considering coring?

If you mount it with a face plate or screw chuck, however the flat side is cut will determine the features that will be included and the quality of the finished bowl. Did you cut the blank, or recut the flat side, to suit your idea for the best possibly bowl? If someone else cut it, do you think they did a good job?
If you mount it between centers, you can adjust the orientation of the wood as you begin turning which allows you to get the best possible finished piece--not the biggest finished piece, but the best. To do this, your lathe and blank need to be a good match in size, and you have to be comfortable cutting wood-air-wood-air.

I’ve only been turning for three years. But most of what I turn had been non burl blanks.
I have a 12 21 vs jet so I have limits to that size.
I just trying to get ideas of what more experienced people would do!
I have no problem cutting air wood air, also I have access to to other pieces so if I screw it up no problem .
You could private message me also

 

[Dean Center]

I’ve only been turning for three years. But most of what I turn had been non burl blanks.
I have a 12 21 vs jet so I have limits to that size.
I just trying to get ideas of what more experienced people would do!
I have no problem cutting air wood air, also I have access to to other pieces so if I screw it up no problem .
You could private message me also

Just trying to make sure the responders are answering the questions you are actually asking. And also to get a clearer idea of what your situation entails so you can get the best quality answers.

With a Jet 1221 (a very nice small lathe) we can assume you won't be coring. Knowing you won't tear your hair out if you goof it up helps, too.

 

[Dave Landers]

When I get a burl, I try to look at where the burl figure is. You know there's going to be some figure under the bark (the burl cap itself) - but how deep does it go? Sometimes I'll make some experimental cuts on the bandsaw - around the edges that would get turned off anyway - to try to get a peek inside.
The main decision for a burl bowl is natural-edge or flat-edge. Will the bottom of the bowl follow the burl cap, or will the bottom be towards the center of the tree? Natural-edge can be cool if you capture the burl spikes around the edge, but risks cutting away a lot of the burl figure if the figure doesn't go too deep into the log.

From what I can see in your pictures, the figure does extend to the flat/cut side - but not much. If that's the bottom of a natural-edge bowl, you're going to have a little figure area in the very bottom of the bowl, and some around the edge - but not much else. So my first inclination would be to try to capture the figure all around the burl cap in the bottom of the bowl (so the flat/cut side becomes the top of the bowl). But I'd also be careful and slow when initially turning wood away, in case things change when you get inside and under the bark.