Would any of these be any good? Worth trying?

[Greg Parrish]

Wasn't sure if these defects meant good things below or messy and not worth the time.

[Dennis Ford]

I would guess that there is both "good things" and "not worth the trouble" in those trees and that the only way to separate the two is to cut them up. Cutting them up in a way that maximizes their value will be an exercise in imagination and luck. Occasionally the things you imagine are there will actually be there. Practice will improve the odds but there will always be some luck factored in.

[Steve Mawson]

I would certainly give it a go. Don't look like true burls but could have some interesting figure. Also could be started toward spalting as well. Hard to tell until it's on the lathe.

[Barry McFadden]

I really don't think there is enough wood there to make it worthwhile but I could be wrong...

[John Hart]

I see at least 10 fun little vessels

[Reed Gray]

In the first picture, top thing is a hole from a broken off branch. I did see some one make mirror frames out of pieces like that. Lower part looks like some abnormal growth, and may be burlish. Not sure about the others.

robo hippy

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks. This is two different trees we spotted on the property today. I wasn't sure if the defects were a sign of crazy interesting grain underneath. Besides that I'm not even sure of the type of tree.

[Olaf Vogel]

I usually prefer these difficult pieces.

They increase the risk of total failure.
BUT, if the piece turns out, there's much higher chance of getting something spectacular! Rather than just nice.

You very likely will get a large variation in density and grain directions, and possibly color.

Either way, you learn a lot in the process.

[Scott Ticknor]

Nothing ventured , nothing gained .Have some fun, make some shavings

[John C Cox]

You won't know till you cut into them to see what you have.

If you have the time - then I would start with the one that looks more dead.

The smaller ones - assuming a healthy tree - remember that trees grow every year so they will get bigger with time.

If they look promising - you can gently clear some saplings out around them so they will grow bigger sooner.

edit to add:
Several of those trees appear to have damage at the same level. Any chance that a metal fence ran through there?

if so - be careful to get all the metal out before you turn.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks. This is two different trees we spotted on the property today. I wasn't sure if the defects were a sign of crazy interesting grain underneath. Besides that I'm not even sure of the type of tree.

I enjoy a good burl but those don't look worth the effort, especially the first one, at least not yet. When a limb breaks off the tree will heal itself it if can but slowly, often making a big dome over the wound. This sometimes results in some interesting figured wood but usually not very deep. What's worse, a dead limb usually results in a big pocket of rotted wood inside the dome. Whether there is enough useful wood now to turn something round is difficult to guess.

If my tree, I might leave it for 5-10 years and see how it is changing. From the photo that first one looks pretty bad below the broken limb - if the tree dies I would certainly cut it immediately and see what was inside. I have a lot of hardwood acreage here but I don't usually cut the trees except where needed such as for thinning. I do get some great wood with something comes down in a storm - I found a nice true burl a few days ago while cleaning up a cherry tree that fell across my horse pasture fence.

If your region is heavily wooded you might also talk to neighbors and other property owners. If it's like around here, some don't mind you hunting through their woods for a few burls. I've had people tell me I could cut any I found - very few "normal" people see burls as valuable.

JKJ