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Cedar Burl

D

Doc G

Joined
Apr 11, 2006
Messages
5
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Location
Monroeville, Alabama
Hi folks,

Dumb question time. A friend just dropped off an aromatic cedar burl about 14" by 14" by 20 ". How should this piece be handled and utilized?

Thanks,
John
 
aromatic cedar burl

Question: how much does a lathe cost? Seriously, to answer your question we need more information. How big is your lathe? What kind of turning do you do best? What would you like to turn it into?Are you a member of a local turning club, or do you know a turner that you can get advice from? As you can see, there are lots of variables to your request. Dont mean to jump on you, but we need more informnation. A burl can make beautiful pen blanks all the way up to an unusual and striking vase or platter.More information will get you a better answer. Max 😕 😕 😛 😱
 
Max,
I have lately gotten very interested in bowls and know enough to be dangerous.
My lathe, an old varible speed Delta, will swing 12 inches inboard. I have been turning a lot of local green wood but have no idea where to even start thinking about cutting into the burl. The closest turning club is around 100 miles away, too far for me to be able to particicapte faithfully. I like the idea of a platter but dont know how cedar would work. Thanks for the reply.

John
 
I've turned a natural edge cedar bowl/vase and it really isnt a bad turn.

As for the burl, unless it looks like it could be fragile or a shrapnel bomb just treat it like all the other wood you've turned. Carefully. 😉

Mine showed scratches rather easily though so be careful finishing.
 
Hey Chris.

If you have a true, aromatic cedar burl, you could have something pretty spectacular.

There are two types of burls, pin burls and onion burls. Onion burls look just like what they're named after if you cut them in half. They don't tend to be that spectacular but can be kinda cool. Pin burls, on the other hand, have what amounts to lots of little pin branch growths throughout them, giving you some pretty spectacular figure.

Now your needled evergreens don't burl a whole lot and, from my experience, usually onion burl. If yours is a true cedar pin burl, it's gonna be pretty rare and likely, really beautiful.

Congrats and have lots of fun with it. Be sure to wear a dust mask.

Dietrich
 
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