Bad burl… bad, bad, bad burl!

[David Sophusson]

Okay so my parents called awhile back and said they have a neighbor that is doing some clearing and knocked down a oak tree with a rather large burl on it. So Becky and I look at each other and think hmmm haven’t visited the folks for a while and…. Road Trip!!!

So we pack up Rosy my little mule and hooked up the ol’ covered wagon and headed south to Gold Beach Oregon. It wasn’t long after we arrived and I had that big ol’ burl separated from the log. Well it took three of us a good bit of grunt time but we got that big thing up over the fifth-wheel hitch and secured between the hitch and the cab standing on it’s edge. Heading home we made a quick stop at Dave and Sandy Smith’s place to gloat and go out for a bit of dinner. Next stop, home. Got the covered wagon unhooked and the hitch off of Rosy’s back but left the burl strapped in the bed for a couple of weeks trying to figure out what to do with it cause I ain’t moving that thing any more than I have to! Well I finally decided to get that thing out of the bed but first wanted to try to pressure wash the bark off it before getting the neighbor to come over and lift it out with his tractor Saturday morning. So Thursday evening I unstrap the burl and manage to winch it to the center of the bed for it’s bath and skin peel, ok so we both got a bath and it kept it’s bark after an hour of trying. I can’t move that thing without my winch so heck with it I’ll just leave it there.

Friday morning it’s time to go to work and now days it’s pretty dark at that time of the morning. It’s 11 miles along county back roads to work, I got plenty of time so I’m just poking along at 35 mph.

Well good morning Mr. Possum, just curious as to why you chose me to dart out in front of as I tap the breaks? Well I thought I just tapped them!

Well bottom line…. Mr. Possum is still alive….Rosy now has a curvy new figure with the back of the cab shoved in almost four inches and to make a nice match the front of the bed follows that same new curve…..also I now have better ventilation since the back window exploded into all those little pieces….Mr. Insurance Man…. meet Mr. Autobody Man….He would like 44 hundred dollars please.

Sophie, who will never leave a load not tied down again!

[Todd Burch]

OUCH! Glad it didn't end up in the front seat with you. I'd say it's time to unload that puppy. Don't let it roll into your house or garage!

Todd.

[Doug Littlejohn]

OUCH!! I did someting similar only with a 14" bandsaw in the back of the PU. THought I had it tied down only when I commenced to go over the little bitty bumps (I swear they were little), the BS swayed back and forth and back and forth and just bummped a little between the table and the rear window.

A few minutes later I start to hear the small sound of twinkling, ah the sound of safety glass slwoely disinegrating into gazillions of little pieces.

I get home, grab a flashlight and verify my worst fear.

Worse yet, the window guy says 'did ya have a sliding window in the back' and me being real honest says no, I didn't. He replaces the window, $100.00, sheesh. Ya he says, to bad it wasn't a slider, they only cost $700-800. WHAT ??, I could have had a slider and SAVED the insurance company hundreds of $$.

Oh well, live and learn. I'll NEVER drive without things tied down right again (honest).

[Scott Greaves]

Oh No, Sophie! Not Rosy! If I were you, I'd cut that nasty burl up into PEN BLANKS as punishment! And then maybe sell the blanks to a factory in Taiwan where they'd be turned into three dollar pens!

I hope the insurance guy doesn't give you any problems. I mean, who doesn't drive around with wood in the back? ;-)

Scott.

[Lee Schierer]

Glad you're okay and that Rosie will be better too! Glad I won't be the next possum to cross th road in front of you! Are you going to show us a picture of this moster burl? That makes two in your barn now right??

[Bart Leetch]

Well Sophie

I've heard of things that go bump in the night while your in bed. But not of things that go bump in the day time in the bed while your going down the road. I suspect that if you'd get around & install the hoist in the floor of your garage you would unload heavy loads easier & sooner.