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Source for burl wood

mfoster

mfoster

Joined
Oct 8, 2007
Messages
45
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Location
Springfield, VT
I am looking to source a larger sized blank of some nice wood for a project. Burl wood of most any species would be great. I oringinally had in mind some black ash burl as I have had some of this in the past that was fantastic and would look really nice, but I am not sure if would be available in the size I need. Looking for something in the range of 10" x 10" x 6" without major defects. I am really open to most any species. I have contacted Hearne hardwoods and they do have some nice looking BLM burl that would be excellent, but with the cost of shipping and size of the blank they have, it really puts it out of range that makes sense. (I live in VT and not sure, but I think shipping might make a 400$ blank more like 600). I am going to call the folks at Australian burls to see if they might have something that will work but was wondering if there was any other source that is nearer to me where I could actually look at the inventory and save the shipping. I have visited Rare Woods in Maine a few times in the past and it is a candy store but they do not seem to carry thicker stock like I need. I wish Bad Dog burls was still going as they were much closer to me. Just thought I'd see if anyone here knows of a supplier in New England.
 
You might call Hannes Michelson in Manchester. When I visited him some years ago he had a number of large burls sitting around outside his shop, and my neighbor used to get burls from him. At least he could suggest some sources. Berkshire Products is worth checking out as well, although they tend to cut thinner slabs than what you are looking for.

I have always sourced burls from loggers and firewood processors who have no market for them. Small sawmills likewise. They get expensive real fast when they are retailed. Still, I'll be watching this thread to see if you can find a reliable source of good quality material. The local burls I get, mostly cherry and maple, are a total crapshoot, so I rarely want to invest much money in them. The online sources tend to "add value" by dicing their stock up into slabs, whereas I would rather deal with a whole burl for turning purposes.

Your work is intriguing. I'll look forward to whatever you end up making out of this proposed chunk of unicorn wood.
 
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Every year at the Rocky Mountain Symposium, there's a vendor with tons of burls, including quite a few black ash burls (which seem to be on the small side, to me). I don't know the name of the business or vendor, but Alan Jensen or Cindy Drozda would know.
 
Dean Center said:
Every year at the Rocky Mountain Symposium, there's a vendor with tons of burls, including quite a few black ash burls (which seem to be on the small side, to me). I don't know the name of the business or vendor, but Alan Jensen or Cindy Drozda would know.
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That was Roger Howard. I think he was from MN but not positive. He wasn't there in 2024 and we haven't heard from him this year either.
 
I frequent Goose Bay Lumber in Chichester NH (just east of Concord on Rt 4). Last time I was there, I noticed they have 4 or 5 bins loaded with burls. Not sure what wood species or prices. I was planning to ask about them the next time I was up there. Also interested in any other sources posted here.
 
thanks for all the replies on this. Kevin, I didn't think of Hannes. He was actually a member of our club back when we started it and I know him pretty well. I will give him a call. I hear you about cherry and maple burls, my experience matches yours with these. Dean, I have been into Goose bay numerous times and never was impressed with the burl stock they had. I know it changes, probably weekly, so maybe they have something that might work. I will give them a call to see if they have something suitable. I will continue the search.
 
When you say 10x10x6", do you literally mean a square block of wood 6" thick? Or do you mean, a burl cap roughly that size? The woodcraft here in Aurora has had a bin full of various wood cutoffs, reclaimed wood, and fairly big burl caps for a while. I think they still have some....and many were quite large (total diameter of some of the caps might well exceed 10". I think most were Mallee, some were Amboyna (although not sure any of those are left.) I think they had some maple at one point as well. I suspect its the various Mallee that they still have, as they had quite a lot at one point (a rather large bin filled to the brim when they first came in!) I picked up several in the 5-7" range. Maybe 2-3" thick. They have some cracks here and there, but otherwise, its pretty good burl.
 
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