Big Milled black walnut blank

[motolife313]

I really don’t know what burl is and how can u tell without seeing the original trunk?

 

[Ax-man]

Crotch wood is sometimes referred to as burl or in some cases figured wood. Your piece of wood has the remnants of old limbs that might have been cut off years ago .

There is a knack to drying that particular kind of wood but I myself don't have that knack. With the grain going in so many different directions the wood just doesn't dry evenly .

 

[motolife313]

I thought it was balls sticking out of the tree. This was not a crotch piece.

 

[Ax-man]

A crotch is the union between a limb and the main stem or parent limb of the tree . Your pic shows this very clearly. A crotch doesn't always mean where the main stem of the tree splits into two or more main leaders.

 

[motolife313]

I see thanks.

 

[BobL]

Crotch wood is sometimes referred to as burl or in some cases figured wood..

Burl and crotch wood are not really the same thing

Crotches are single or multiple Y type unions and can be branch to branch, or branch to trunk.

As for Burls, From Wikipedia

A burl usually results from an injury, virus or fungus. Most burls grow beneath the ground, attached to the roots as a type of malignancy that is generally not discovered until the tree dies or falls over. Such burls sometimes appear as groups of bulbous protrusions connected by a system of rope-like roots. Almost all burl wood is covered by bark, even if it is underground. Insect infestation and certain types of mold infestation are the most common causes of this condition.

Here's a 48" one waiting for me to tackle.

 

[Ax-man]

I see what your saying and your right . I honestly forgot about those infections on tree stems. You don't see them too often . Mostly that term burl around here is some times referred to the wood inside a main crotch of a large tree or as I have heard it said " it is pure burl " or " it is a burly knarly piece of wood" because the grain is going in all different directions and making it harder to saw or if your doing firewood hard to split .

Either way the wood is stunning and unique looking. Any hints as how to keep the checking to a minimum in a piece like the one in your pic.

 

[BobL]

Either way the wood is stunning and unique looking. Any hints as how to keep the checking to a minimum in a piece like the one in your pic.

All I can suggest is to paint exposed ends of the cut timber.

The burl in my pic is from the base of a Jarrah tree. My tree lopper buddy spotted it when he was driving along a dirt road through a local water catchment area of forest. He has a contract to keep roads clear for the water authority vehicular access. The burl/rootball long with many other trees were piled up along one side of the road to be burned. The piles would have been there from when the road was built probably 20 years ago. He obtained permission and brought the burl back to his yard about 3 years for me to mill.

The amount of checking on the top of the burl is a result of at least 20 years of exposure to the elements which is pretty good and shows how tightly bound together the burl holds the timber. I haven't bothered to paint the exposed end as it's probably not going to check much more than it already has.

I would have milled this thing some time ago but my health has been poor and I just don't have enough energy to tackle this large a piece of timber ATM.

 

[SeMoTony]

I see what your saying and your right . I honestly forgot about those infections on tree stems. You don't see them too often . Mostly that term burl around here is some times referred to the wood inside a main crotch of a large tree or as I have heard it said " it is pure burl " or " it is a burly knarly piece of wood" because the grain is going in all different directions and making it harder to saw or if your doing firewood hard to split .

Either way the wood is stunning and unique looking. Any hints as how to keep the checking to a minimum in a piece like the one in your pic.

The president of a company that turns bowls from "gnarly " examples of wood. No blow ups on the lathe. This is done by boiling the piece one hour for each inch of thickness in the shortest distance across the flats. 5x8x8 boil 5 hours IIRC to reduce the tensions that are fighting each other as the piece dries and after.
I have a large pressure cooker that was bought for this purpose, pressurized steam may be faster.
Enjoy milling safely