briar burl
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 5:28 am
holy shit.... i bought a 6 lbs briar burl a couple days ago. it looked great and is nice. i know the whole shpeel on how to boil it and dry it. ive never been to a cutter before although that would be so cool i cant describe. i now appreciate the talents the guys like mimmo et al have at cutting up the briar burls. its quite amazing to get nice cuts and follow grain. so back to the story.
i bought this burl as kind of a side project. i have plenty of briar ready but needed something to occupy me because im an antsy freak. so i split er down the middle with a recipricating saw and to my suprise and an ohhh shit, thers a large crack running the opposite way throught the piece. it looks salvagable so i continue cutting. i get the bad boy into 4 smaller blocks. i take the pieces to my bandsaw that isnt very good and throw a new blade on. shes cutting away and then stops and grumble for a second. the rest of the cut was slower than swimming through chocolate pudding..?!? upon further inspection i cut through a large rock that the burl had grown around and "swallowed". this completely ruined the blade of course but found this very interesting. turns out its common, so i wish i knew that before hand.
any way i got it all cut up and theyre cooking on the coleman stove as i type. i need to let it age for 6 monthes in a damp place i guess then air dry.
just posting this to ask you if anyone else has tried this and if its worth the time. i also want to know if anyone has been to a cutter and if so how big are the burls the cut. i will probablty do this again because 1. its super cheap. the burl cost like 20 bucks. 2. if i get 2 blocks out of it its worth it. 3. i can cut it into whatever dimension i please. 4. i have a future supply of briar 5. its sooooooo fun
FWIW i thought it was loads of fun and would recommend it as a side project. i got about 8 - 9 blocks depending if i want to cut up a large plateau or not. hopefully none crack in the drying process. wanted to share with everyone.
evan
i bought this burl as kind of a side project. i have plenty of briar ready but needed something to occupy me because im an antsy freak. so i split er down the middle with a recipricating saw and to my suprise and an ohhh shit, thers a large crack running the opposite way throught the piece. it looks salvagable so i continue cutting. i get the bad boy into 4 smaller blocks. i take the pieces to my bandsaw that isnt very good and throw a new blade on. shes cutting away and then stops and grumble for a second. the rest of the cut was slower than swimming through chocolate pudding..?!? upon further inspection i cut through a large rock that the burl had grown around and "swallowed". this completely ruined the blade of course but found this very interesting. turns out its common, so i wish i knew that before hand.
any way i got it all cut up and theyre cooking on the coleman stove as i type. i need to let it age for 6 monthes in a damp place i guess then air dry.
just posting this to ask you if anyone else has tried this and if its worth the time. i also want to know if anyone has been to a cutter and if so how big are the burls the cut. i will probablty do this again because 1. its super cheap. the burl cost like 20 bucks. 2. if i get 2 blocks out of it its worth it. 3. i can cut it into whatever dimension i please. 4. i have a future supply of briar 5. its sooooooo fun
FWIW i thought it was loads of fun and would recommend it as a side project. i got about 8 - 9 blocks depending if i want to cut up a large plateau or not. hopefully none crack in the drying process. wanted to share with everyone.
evan