Burl on a Bridge

Love this piece. How exactly did you hold it on the lathe?

Thanks for asking. It was an interesting and fun project. I loved the back side of this burl and wanted to save it intact. My challenge was how to mount it without using a chuck or face plate as that would damage the burl. I built a 3/4" plywood box that the burl would fit in, deep enough so that it was flush with the face. I then added another layer of plywood to the back to mount a large face plate on. I lined the box with a sheet of plastic, wrapped the back side of the burl with shrink wrap, and used spray foam to hold the burl in place. While turning, I had to keep the rpm's right at 413 as anything above or below that speed and it would not spin flat. Here are some pictures of it on the lathe.

ingenious!

-----odie-----

This is one of the best examples of "determination" I have seen. Who says it can't be done? Excellence and perfection, Robert!

That is unreal. I’m a carpenter and the only way I could think of doing it was spray foam, but did not think it would have enough integrity. Thank you so much for showing us. Sometimes people ( me) just overthink things and you just have to try it and make mistakes to get results. I had eliminated that exact process in my head without giving it a chance. Beautiful piece.

@Glenn Lefley Thanks Gleen, One thing you need to do is start the lathe up slow and do not stand in the line of fire. Also make sure the foam is all set up, not just on the outside. Good luck

Very nice piece and thank you for allowing us into your mind and for the nice pictures of the process. Big B

Excellent piece and thanks for the tutorial on how you hold it. I also have some burl caps I want to turn similar to yours, but was not sure just how to hold it. I thought of rigid foam, but not the box, which is essential to mounting a faceplate.