Bark Removal - Birch

[Randy Heinemann]

I have a small birch log that has all it's bark. Is it better to remove most of the bark before turning or just turn it off?

Also, does the bark dull turning tools, like a bowl gouge, more quickly, or about the same as wood?

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

If you can easily remove bark, do it. It is not the bark but the grit in it that dulls tools IMHO. Large chunks of a heavy bark such as oak or walnut can do some injury at times. It does hurt to get a hit in the shoulder by a flying piece of bark.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

@Gerald Lawrence I had some time after I saw your response and, since the bark was easy to remove with a drawknife, I just took it most of it off. Probably less messy to turn without it anyway. The wood underneath looked slightly spalted and otherwise sound.

 

[Doug Freeman]

If the bark is loose I pull or
pry it off (large screwdriver). Experience taught me it can come off in big chunks if loose. Depends how long the wood has been dead.

Bark can blunt an edge quickly.

 

[Randy Anderson]

I turn mostly natural edge bowls and start with trying to keep it on. I test it first to see if it's loose or likely to come off. If so then I pry it off with a chisel or whatever else I can get under it. If it looks like it will hold then I leave it and proceed, standing to the side and with my face shield on. Sometimes I get nearly done with a piece and it comes off. Other times I think it won't survive turning and it surprises me. Also depends on what you want for a look. If the bark is distinct and adds a lot of look, has some moss on it, darker coloring, etc then I really try to save it. Maybe a little CA on some spots that look loose. If it's something like sycamore where the bark is not much more than a thin skin then not really worth the effort. I have a short stub 5/8 gouge that I dedicate to working through the bark with then shift to my better, and longer, gouges.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

The grain of the outer bark on birch wraps around the tree so to remove the bark in one piece make a cut down the length of the round then using a wide putty knife in the cut gently pry the bark loose. The bark can be turned off but you can expect it to slap against the tool rest or anything else that gets in the way.

 

[Richard Coers]

If the log was drug through dirt or sand, it definitely will dull tools. It's close to the time when tree growth slows for the summer and the cambium layer starts to toughen up. In the height of spring, bark removal is incredibly easy. Into summer it gets much tougher, and in the fall and winter almost impossible. It never made sense to work at the bark with other tools, when you have a powered bark removal machine available, the lathe!

 

[Randy Heinemann]

It’s already off. It was a 4” diameter log. No real shot at a natural edge bowl. Just using it for practice; probably a small tall hollow form.

 

[hockenbery]

No real shot at a natural edge bowl.

It is a little bit small for an NE Bowl. If the wood has interesting grain it could be a nice bowl

This one not much over 4” diameter

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

It is a little bit small for an NE Bowl. If the wood has interesting grain it could be a nice bowl

This one not much over 4” diameter View attachment 45588

Ditto that here is my addition to the natural edge bowl from a 4" diameter log category.

 

[Steve Chaplin]

I use a air hammer with a chisel, a cheap harbor freight version $13. Works great, removes bark quickly. https://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools-compressors/air-tools/air-impact-hammer-kit-92037.html

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

It’s already off. It was a 4” diameter log. No real shot at a natural edge bowl. Just using it for practice; probably a small tall hollow form.

A small lidded box would be nice especially if the Birch wood is spalted, turning Birch with the bark on is difficult, the wood will shrink and the Birch bark does not, and then the bark likes to unroll like paper from the wood, CA can stop that, but the bark will still be loose.
Here is box from spalted Birch and some napkin rings of Birch.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

I decided to experiment with the birch. This is the first of two small sections 4" in diameter by about 10". I roughed up the outside (not hard since birch is soft) with a wire brush. Then I used a torch to burn some parts. I tried spray paint to get some blue and the rubbed some blue Chroma-Gilt to try to highlight the blue more. I sprayed with one light coat of Shellac to seal it then used the beeswax/mineral mixture I use on a lot of bowls. It's not going to win any prizes but it was an interesting process. Birch is soft, so hollowing without tearout was difficult. Fortunately it's soft and easy to sand on the outside, plus I was able to get rid of most of the tearout through shear (or maybe it's sheer) scraping but easy to sand to get out imperfections.

I assume the "tracks" are from bugs. What would be evidence that they are still living? I think this is unlikely as the wood has been cut for well over a year; maybe 2. There were a lot of black specks which I couldn't really identify that came off when turning. If the bugs are still living I think I'll just not turn the second piece. It's already outside.

 

[Rob Fridenberg]

I turned a birch bud vase, 13" tall, and it was difficult to get a smooth cut. I removed most of the bark before turning but still had some spinning bark flaps to deal with!

I will most likely avoid birch in the future, the wood did not smell nice and I had to leave it in the garage for several weeks.