Red Bud Burls

[Jim Dunn]

Got all my burls in a row. Now the question, has anyone ever turned any red-bud before. Am I wasting my time on these burls?

Jim

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Jim, how could you waste your time on anything? Didn't you see the Trout post? I'd try it for sure. Let us see it when you do.

[Jim Becker]

There is no such thing as wasted wood when it comes to turning...turners will turn anything. You are a turner, therefore you will also turn anything!!

[Tom Stover]

Jim, this pen is made of redbud Burl and I think looks pretty good. The biggest problem I had was it splitting. As soon as I cut the tree down I waxed the ends real well but it split from end to end, like you took each end in your hands and twisted. Thats why I have a lot of pen blanks.

[Jeremiah Jordan]

Red Bud? What the heck is that? And where does "Red Bud" grow? Is it a tree or a bush of some sorts. Never heard that type of wood in my parts.

Jeremiah

[John Timberlake]

Never seen any redbud big enough to turn. Give it a try and let us know how it turns out. Worst that can happen is to make a lot of chips and practice on a new wood.

[Gil Jones]

Red Bud turns quite well; I make little angels and such, as it is only 2" to 4" diameter. Yep, it will crack, and end sealing helps. It is good looking wood. It was free, and I like that kind of wood best. I do not have any Red Bud burls.
The two little angels in the lower right are Red Bud, and the lighter colored angels are Crape Myrtle (which cracks MUCH worse than Red Bud).

[Bernie Weishapl]

Hey Jim that Redbud is no good. It isn't worth messing with. If I PM you my address I will take care of the disposal for you.

It turns fine. Not a bad wood to turn.

[Pat Salter]

Some say tomatoe and some say tomahtoe,
some say potatoe and some say potahtoe.
some say a waste of time and others say practice.

[Reed Gray]

I always thought of it as being an eastern tree. I got one last winter here in Oregon, and it was a monster. the trunk was 16 inches in diameter. It is a bit stringy, but the greenish hues are beautiful. It isn't very dense, but turns well with sharp tools.
I also got some mimosa, and I don't think I like that stuff. It stinks, not sour like cotton wood, but kind of like bad soap. Almost irritating. I did a couple of crotch pieces, and they look nice, good color, but it was hard to turn.
Tomorrow finds me on the road to Salem, to look at a dogwood, also a monster of about 16 inch diameter, and supposedly clear.
I've got more wood than I know what to do with, and people keep giving me more. Looks like more wood for the raffel at the next Beaver State Woodturners meeting.
robo hippy

[Mike Ramsey]

Didn't they used to smoke that stuff back in the 70's....Now were
turning it!! pssst, wanna buy some Red Bud .

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Jim, I've got a great idea. Save one for the "Dirty Turners Project", I'll bet someone would love it!

[Dick Strauss]

Jim,
I didn't have good luck with redbud. A friend and I turned two 8" pcs a few weeks ago. One was a redbud NE bowl and the other was a std bowl with a raised band rim. The wood looked very nice with a yellowish/orangish/green color to it almost like pastels. I left both of them relatively thick (1/2-3/4in). They turned very nicely with almost no tearout. I did the DNA soak and wrapped them in paper immediately after soaking. Both bowls had been drying for two weeks when I decided to peek in the bags. Here are the results:

The NE bowl split vertically along the highest points of the rim. My friend is waiting to decide what to do with his NE attempt.

My std bowl had many serious splits near the tenon and along the rim. I decided that it wasn't worth wasting the CA glue with so many splits to fix. I couldn't be sure it would stay together for returning either. It went to the scrap pile.

I hope you have better luck. I'll try to turn it to finish thickness if I do another one. I'd recommend that you do the same. If it is thinner it might warp but not crack!(?)

Good Luck!!!!