cutting cherry burls

[doug young]

Hi all,
On saturday i am going to a 20 year old cherry orchard that is being taking down. I am paying 5 bucks a burl for whatever i want. I got some crotch wood and have been finding that. even though i wax it it really has a tendency to crack. I only waxed the end grain. So here is my question. My desire is to use the burl down the road as duck call blanks. What process should i go through. Cut to blanks, seal in wax? seal the face of the whole burl in wax? I appreciate all of your help.
thanks, doug

oh, if you live in northern CA i would be glad to give you the guys phone number. They are using a lot of the wood for firewood since he hasn't got a huge response for people to mill the wood. but wait till i cut off all the burls
Bowl blank sizes for the crotchwood were easily 16"

[Dave Ogren]

Doug,

I am thinking that the expert on giving you the right answer would be Jack Mincey. He is big in calls and remember his truckload of cherry burls and all of his hollow forms. I am sure he will send you in the right direction. Good Luck and happy turning.

Dave

[Dick Strauss]

Doug,
It sounds like you found quite the nice score. Make sure you work safely!

Do as Bill Grumbine suggests and take out a 1-2" slice out of the center of the log along the grain to get rid of the pith (the first few years of tree growth). I would cut lots to the size you need for duck call blanks. You'll want to get the best figure in your duck call blanks even if it means sacrificing some of the wood. If you cut them down to size now, you'll have less cracking problems later because smaller pieces move less. You'll also want to leave some pieces bigger for later interests like bowls, hollow forms, etc, but be prepared for some cracking.

Anchorseal all of it immediately after cutting put it on plenty thick. With burl, I'd coat all exposed wood, not just endgrain. Then put a second coat on a day or so later.


Take care,
Dick

[doug young]

thanks Dick, sent you a PM

[doug young]

should i make it into the 2 x 2 blanks then seal it or leave it as a burl chunk and seal it. Also will wood dry if it is sealed on all sides. doug

[Jack Mincey]

Doug,
I have dried burls three ways for game calls. The first time I melted some bee's wax and dipped both ends in it about 1" up on the blank. Since then I cut it into blank size and put it in a couple brown paper bags and leave it for a year or two. The cherry "BURL" in N.C. isn't real bad to check. The important thing is to cut your blanks about 20% bigger than you will need. It will move a good bit as it dries. If you are cutting up large burls for you calls, it is best to slab it into boards thicker than you will need seal the end grain and stack with sticks between them at the very end of the slab. A person that ran a small saw mill told me that putting the sticker at the end of the board helped reduce the checking from going far into the end of the lumber. The burls I have for bowls went around the trunk of the tree so I cut them on either side, sealed the ends, put them in the shade and covered with a tarp until I get to them. I hope to go back where I got my last burls, this spring for another harvest.
Jack