# Black Locust burls



## turnkey4099

The black locust I am working up had several burls, small to big. Are they good for anything? Unfortunately, the biggest one was on the bottom of the log and I cut through it.

Harry K


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## MAKEITOUTOFWOOD

turnkey4099 said:


> The black locust I am working up had several burls, small to big. Are they good for anything? Unfortunately, the biggest one was on the bottom of the log and I cut through it.
> 
> Harry K



I don't know about carving but any burl kicks a$$ fur turning. 

Mike


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## discounthunter

burls almost always have nice figure in them. the amount though can very. they are like x-mas gifts ,you wont know the true condition till you cut them open. some will have rotten centers or tracks,some bark inclutions,some solid gorgous wood. you can seal em up them give them a year or so, or cut them up and seal as you go.definately worth the effort no matter the outcome.Dave


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## turnkey4099

discounthunter said:


> burls almost always have nice figure in them. the amount though can very. they are like x-mas gifts ,you wont know the true condition till you cut them open. some will have rotten centers or tracks,some bark inclutions,some solid gorgous wood. you can seal em up them give them a year or so, or cut them up and seal as you go.definately worth the effort no matter the outcome.Dave



Okay, I'll give it a shot. I'll segregate the chunks with burls and seal them. What do you use for that? Black locust checks badly as a chunk dries.

Harry K


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## aquan8tor

anchor seal, or Bailey's log sealer. Its cheapest by the bucket--if you order direct from anchor seal--(UC Coatings), I think its about $60. I use the winterized formula so I can leave it in my shop &not worry about it freezing--if it does, it is RUINED, and can not be made useable again.


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## bowtechmadman

Local guy makes some gorgeous bowls etc by carving...thought they were turned but you can see the marks from a chisel. 
Here is what I did w/ a large maple w/ burls:


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## ShoerFast

turnkey4099 said:


> Okay, I'll give it a shot. I'll segregate the chunks with burls and seal them. What do you use for that? Black locust checks badly as a chunk dries.
> 
> Harry K



Many coats of very thick paint, is a sealer of sorts. As well as tossing them together, covered deep in there own sawdust, in a few layers of trash-bags and taping them tight will allow slower drying.


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## trimmmed

turnkey4099 said:


> The black locust I am working up had several burls, small to big. Are they good for anything? Unfortunately, the biggest one was on the bottom of the log and I cut through it.
> 
> 
> 
> Harry K


They could be very good. I like black locust's look myself and a burl might be awesome. Don't worry about cutting through it, smaller burl chunks are still usable for a bunch of things


turnkey4099 said:


> Okay, I'll give it a shot. I'll segregate the chunks with burls and seal them. What do you use for that? Black locust checks badly as a chunk dries.
> 
> Harry K



Make sure and cut the burls off any "regular" wood. A burl doesn't have the same grain structure, so doesn't have the same drying/stress/cracking issues. I would seal the cut end with anchorseal or paint. I wouldn't seal the "eyes" end. 

All done, there is no guarantee, but small checking in a burl is no biggie to fill with epoxy for whoever is working it.


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## MAKEITOUTOFWOOD

I have to second Anchorseal. Another thing if the hole section of the tree is a big burl. You have to cut the pith out. If you don't it will most likely crack weather you seal it or not.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2020588/Anchorseal-Green-Wood-Sealer.aspx


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## turnkey4099

Chopped them out of the tree today. Quite a pile. I don't think many of them will be of much use as too "thin". 












I have a guy coming to look them over this weekend.

Harry K


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## MAKEITOUTOFWOOD

They look good to me.


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## discounthunter

TK those look good. as far as seaming too thin, laminate strips and pens require very little wood,so even a little burl has a lot of potential use.

btw if you dont want to spend the money on good sealer , even just a good heavy coat of latex paint is better than nothing.


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## Gypo Logger

trimmmed said:


> They could be very good. I like black locust's look myself and a burl might be awesome. Don't worry about cutting through it, smaller burl chunks are still usable for a bunch of things
> 
> 
> Make sure and cut the burls off any "regular" wood. A burl doesn't have the same grain structure, so doesn't have the same drying/stress/cracking issues. I would seal the cut end with anchorseal or paint. I wouldn't seal the "eyes" end.
> 
> All done, there is no guarantee, but small checking in a burl is no biggie to fill with epoxy for whoever is working it.



Dave, I also found that microwaving burls on medium works well too, as does embalming them in noodles cut with a saw. Both methods seem to prevent checking. Probably the best method is to cut the tree down and leave all branches on and let it dry for 3 weeks or so in warm weather.
John


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## Meadow Beaver

John, you remind of D*** Pennicky.


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## Gypo Logger

MMFaller39 said:


> John, you remind of D*** Pennicky.



Was he a good guy? lol
John


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## Meadow Beaver

You never watched his movie how he was a outdoorsman in Alaska, who built his cabin with an axe and crosscut saw?


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## Gypo Logger

Yes, come to think of it I know who you mean now, however I haven't seen the movie yet. I bet it's an interesting flick.
Thanks,
John


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## Jacob J.

We got some straight pieces of Black Locust on a removal once and milled planks out of them for my grandpa's shop. We treated them with linseed oil and they looked very nice when installed. I can imagine a locust burl as being very attractive.


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## lumberjackchef

Jacob J. said:


> We got some straight pieces of Black Locust on a removal once and milled planks out of them for my grandpa's shop. We treated them with linseed oil and they looked very nice when installed. I can imagine a locust burl as being very attractive.




Here's a pic of some black locust that I found while surfing.


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## horsey32073

*gold mine*

Dude
Ever hear of I.A.P. Its a pen turning site . cut that burl up into 3/4 by3/4 or 1 by 1 in by 6 in long you can sell them for five dollors each. Any spalted and crotch grain woods sell fast on that site.


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## Taxmantoo

horsey32073 said:


> Dude
> Ever hear of I.A.P. Its a pen turning site . cut that burl up into 3/4 by3/4 or 1 by 1 in by 6 in long you can sell them for five dollors each. Any spalted and crotch grain woods sell fast on that site.



This site?
http://www.penturners.org/forum/tags.php?tag=pen+blanks


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## horsey32073

*i.p.a.*

yep thats it


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## flushcut

Meadow Beaver said:


> John, you remind of D*** Pennicky.



That guy was bad azz!


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## daviddwilson

trimmmed said:


> They could be very good. I like black locust's look myself and a burl might be awesome. Don't worry about cutting through it, smaller burl chunks are still usable for a bunch of things
> 
> 
> Make sure and cut the burls off any "regular" wood. A burl doesn't have the same grain structure, so doesn't have the same drying/stress/cracking issues. I would seal the cut end with anchorseal or paint. I wouldn't seal the "eyes" end.
> 
> All done, there is no guarantee, but small checking in a burl is no biggie to fill with epoxy for whoever is working it.


I have to second Anchorseal. Another thing if the hole section of the tree is a big burl. You have to cut the pith out. If you don't it will most likely crack weather you seal it or not.


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## chipr

turnkey4099 said:


> Chopped them out of the tree today. Quite a pile. I don't think many of them will be of much use as too "thin".
> 
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> 
> I have a guy coming to look them over this weekend.
> 
> Harry K



Try cutting the tree part flat, and then slice them with a band saw so they make rainbow looking pieces. About 2 to 3 inches thick. It gives you a good surface to shine up, and I've hung stuff down from them as wind spinners/chimes type of things.


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