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Spalted Burls

J

Jarred Hoffpauir

Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
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Location
Maple Valley, WA
A few weeks ago I found an OLD downed maple which happened to have a huge burl on it. I was able to cut 3 really nice burl chunks out of it and two of them I would like to turn myself and the third I would not mind selling or trading it to someone who can turn something larger then I am able. The largest burl is 11" thick and 20" around at the smallest point. The edges are a bit punkey and there is clearly spalting through parts of the cut.

SO my question is this...How do I prep these pieces for turning? Im concerned that it may be a bit too spalted to just throw on the lathe and turn but im not sure what to do with it.

I guess a second question would be how much should I sell the large burl for? Give me an idea what I should be trading for. It might be really great or it could be total junk!
 
Jarred, I usually use a minwax wood hardener from the hardware store. Its about $8 a can, but it does a really nice job stabilizing the spalted and punky wood. I usually coat it and let dry, turn until hardened wood is gone, coat it again, and so on. Its kind of a longer process, but it has worked for me on a bunch of spalted. If you are interested in trading a peice or two for some Black Ash Burl, PM me some pics.
 
i call Nick Agar's mounting mehtod the "avalanche"

if it is punky just in places i should be able to turn some of the pieces after having it cut

can you turn outboard???? 🙂
 
Cory Norgart said:
Jarred, I usually use a minwax wood hardener from the hardware store. Its about $8 a can, but it does a really nice job stabilizing the spalted and punky wood. I usually coat it and let dry, turn until hardened wood is gone, coat it again, and so on. Its kind of a longer process, but it has worked for me on a bunch of spalted. If you are interested in trading a peice or two for some Black Ash Burl, PM me some pics.
Click to expand...

Cory.......

I have had minimal success with Minwax wood hardener, but coat, turn, re-coat, re-turn, re-coat, re-turn is something I have not tried. This is a good suggestion, and something I intend to try the next time I get some really punky wood...........thank you.

Question: About how much wood do you turn away before you re-coat?

When I used MWH before, it looked like it had fairly good penetration (I'd say somewhere about +/- 1/4", or so), but still was unable to get an acceptable surface for sanding........so, can I assume you are re-coating at some point prior to where it looks like the MWH has penetrated?

ooc
 
Someone at my local chapter meeting last night suggested I look into doing some unconventional methods of finishing such as sand blasting or burning. I dont want to cover up too much of the spalting with texture but it may be an options if the others dont end up working out.

With the minwax wood hardener...does that effect the finishing process at all like a CVA glue would? I will be doing some test pieces with some other heavily spalted maple I have in the shop and will update as I get some results.
 
One of the problems with big leaf maple is that it can go from good wood to way too punky in a matter of months. If a tree has been down more than one winter, I won't even bother with it.

robo hippy
 
odie said:
Cory.......

I have had minimal success with Minwax wood hardener, but coat, turn, re-coat, re-turn, re-coat, re-turn is something I have not tried. This is a good suggestion, and something I intend to try the next time I get some really punky wood...........thank you.

Question: About how much wood do you turn away before you re-coat?

When I used MWH before, it looked like it had fairly good penetration (I'd say somewhere about +/- 1/4", or so), but still was unable to get an acceptable surface for sanding........so, can I assume you are re-coating at some point prior to where it looks like the MWH has penetrated?

ooc
Click to expand...
odie, you should be able to tell when the hardened wood is gone, thats when I re-coat. Like you said, about a 1/4 inch or so.
 
Jarred Hoffpauir said:
Someone at my local chapter meeting last night suggested I look into doing some unconventional methods of finishing such as sand blasting or burning. I dont want to cover up too much of the spalting with texture but it may be an options if the others dont end up working out.

With the minwax wood hardener...does that effect the finishing process at all like a CVA glue would? I will be doing some test pieces with some other heavily spalted maple I have in the shop and will update as I get some results.
Click to expand...

Here is the last peice I did with the hadener. This peice was so punky that I could tare it away with my fingers. The finishing was fine, the hardener dries nice and clear.
 

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minwax wood hardener

does it have a smell?
 
Cory Norgart said:
odie, you should be able to tell when the hardened wood is gone, thats when I re-coat. Like you said, about a 1/4 inch or so.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks Cory........I'll pay a little more attention next time. I don't have a steady supply of really punky wood, but sooner or later, I'll get a chance to try this again.

I see your pics on the bowl in a subsequent post......very nice.

later......

ooc
 
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