Burls - How do they dry?

[Glen Blanchard]

I have some questions about burls.

1. Can a burl be green?
2. Does it need to be rough turned?
3. Does it need to be given time to dry?
4. Is checking a concern?
5. Should newly cut blanks that are not to be turned immediately be sealed as would typically be done? If so, as there is no end grain, does one just seal all sides?

[James Combs]

Some others may differ with me on this as I experience with only one wild cut(harvested by me) Walnut burl.

I have some questions about burls.

1. Can a burl be green? Yes, mine was, the rest of the tree still had late fall leaves.
2. Does it need to be rough turned? I have not but it certainly would not hurt anything.
3. Does it need to be given time to dry? Yes if for no other reason then if it is too wet most finishes may not stick.
4. Is checking a concern? Yes, but not to the extent of a regular blank of the same species and age. The interlocking grain tends to hold it together better.
5. Should newly cut blanks that are not to be turned immediately be sealed as would typically be done? If so, as there is no end grain, does one just seal all sides? I did but left a fourth side open, usually the straightest grained area I could find.

Generally speaking I had no problems with my fresh walnut burl and for about half of it I didn't bother sealing. However, YMMV.

[Barry Elder]

They dry very well, thank you! And since a burl has no grain, there are those who tell me that they can be turned green with no warping. There are others who disagree but it may well depend on the type of wood.

[Richard Coers]

I'd say you are asking too broad of a group of questions. Species makes a difference, what you are turning makes a difference. Can a burl be green? I don't understand. It comes off a tree, are you asking if it is dry on the tree? Ever known something that is cut off a tree to not have a chance of checking? Maybe mesquite won't check, but that's the only one I've heard of that doesn't. With all the 100 degree heat going around, all wood just off a tree has a high likelihood of checking. Don't seal all the surfaces if you are going to leave a natural edge. If you are turning boxes or pens, it has to be dry. All others can be turned wet.

[Dennis Ford]

My experience is that burls shrink while drying and small checks are common. The shrinkage is usually well distributed due to multiple grain directions, so warping is not so much of an issue but the surface will become very uneven if finished while wet.

I would treat all surfaces of a burl as end-grain, actually it will be a mix of grain directions.

[Fred Belknap]

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My experience with maple burl, I treated it as I usually do a bowl except I didn't use anchorseal on the outside after it came out of the alcohol. It didn't warp in any one direction but was lumpy and distorted. I didn't use Anchorseal because I didn't want to get it in the cracks and holes . I put them in paper box, bags are hard to come by around here. I was happy with how they turned out.

[Jon Nuckles]

I received a beautiful big leaf maple burl blank (from Mike Smith) as a gift from my wife. It was not too wet and I decided to turn a hollow form in one go. It turned out really well, but warped so much while drying that I didn't even keep it. So, yes, it can be green and I would rough and re-turn.