Replies

1. 
   Bengst | Feb 22, 2003 09:16pm | #1

   Once I found a burl on a dwoned Oregon white oak out in the woods.  I went back home and got my chainsaw and removed it from the log.  I made the mistake of slabbing it as soon as I got home.  It was very wet and since burl has grain going everywhere, it warped to the point that it was unuseable.  It also got a lot of shakes in it so that also rendered it useless.  The figure and grain in my found burl was beautiful but it ended up in the fireplace.  I would recommend letting it dry as a whole for at least a year, more would be better.  Paint or wax the freshly cut ends.  Then of course sticker it and let it dry/season for another 6 months or a year.  I would also cut the slabs 1" or thicker so that if it does warp after slabbing you'll have enough material left after flattening to work with.

   Jeffrey

    

2. 
   fdampier5 | Feb 23, 2003 02:02am | #2

   Burls will move so much you'll think they were a hoochie cootchie dancer in a former life..  if you don't cut it into pieces it will take 800 years to dry completely so it's a compromise.. I've got over a thousand bd. ft. of white oak burl here and the first couple of years after I cut it into 4/4 planks I was sure I was gonna have to throw it out..

      But.... I kept turning it every time I restacked it and kept a lot of weight on it and slowly it's become semi civilized..   It still isn't as flat as when it was first cut but when I run it thru the planner it should be flat...

     By all means slather it in green wood sealer.. (the waxy stuff they sell that goes on like paint)  do not make the mistake of painting it to seal it.. with the wild grain it will just suck paint in and then you are in trouble..

3. 
   Clay | Feb 23, 2003 08:47am | #3

   Many woodturners now are using what they call the soapy water technique to dry green pieces.  I have not specifically tested it on burlwood but my tests on spoon blanks have given me a lot of confidence in the system.  You start with about a 5:1 mix of water and dish detergent (I use Ivory because it is not dyed).  Soak the pieces for a few days and then air dry them as you would have otherwise done.  Checking and warping are markedly reduced or eliminated.  For pieces too big to soak; some are just painting several coats of suds from a whipped froth of that mixture on the wood.  I  would rough out the slabs slightly oversize, soak in soapy water, then air dry with weights to keep them flat.

1. 
   PapaBear1044 | Jul 08, 2021 12:00pm | #4

   OK, I've seen this several times. Can anyone explain how to "air dry" them with weights?

4. 
   _mj_ | Jul 08, 2021 12:27pm | #5

   Sticker it, then put a final layer of plywood (also stickered) on top. Put the weights over the sticker columns on top of the plywood, then wait while it dries.