# Is punky burl still useable?



## BigRob777 (Jul 25, 2005)

I bought a 50 or 60 pound spalted maple burl, knowing that some of it was soft, but when I cut it, it turned out that most of it is.  It is also very wormy, and actively so.  I am new to the burl scene and would appreciate any tips on how to deal with it.  I thought of getting it stabilized, but that would cost a fortune for that much wood.  It is also still a bit damp.  I am trying to put together a burl special and this is holding me up.  I also have to wait for the cherry burl to dry (once I cut the rest of it).  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks very much in advance.  I'll go take a pic of it, just to make it interesting.  That's the cherry burls on the right.  Please help!! Also, any ideas for getting rid of the residents (worms)?


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## ctEaglesc (Jul 25, 2005)

First I would make sure that you keep this wood away from your other stuff, but I am sure you knew that.
I received some cherry burl but not as much as you are talking about.
I cut 1" thick pieces and took some and dried it in the microwave.
When I was cutting I did notice a few "residents".Some crawled out it the cutting process some didn't make it.[]
I have turned a few pens with it.One in particular was turned green as I had not worked with any unstabilized burls prior to this, I was anxious to try it.
It was a slimline and there was filling necessary.It didn't take long after turning the wood shrunk around the areas that I had filled and left a raised section around the CA.(CA will be necessary to fill the punky stuff)
I would cut some and dry in the nuke ,be prepared to glue them back together. Dry as much as you can and keep the CA handy.
Also save any saw dust from the cutting for filling voids.
If you arent doing any home stabilization this might be a good time to start experimenting.


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## Mudder (Jul 25, 2005)

> _Originally posted by cteaglesc_
> <br />If you arent doing any home stabilization this might be a good time to start experimenting.



I second that.

Both of these pens were done with a very punky piece of maple burl that I was given by the owner of my local Woodcraft. I could not keep it together until I home stabilized them.









If it is pretty burl I would suggesteither have it professionally done (which is not overly expensive) or do it yourself.


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## BigRob777 (Jul 25, 2005)

Eagle,
That all sounds like solid advice, thank you.[]  

I am not sure that I am using the word "punky" right.  There is maple burl that I can dig up with a fingernail, which is damp, and there is wood that is harder, but is also light in weight.  Then there is wood that is quite hard and heavier.  The medium stuff is like Basswood, or is like balsawood, only a little harder.  I can leave a fingernail mark in it, but it doesn't couge out, like the softer stuff.  It tears out some on the edges, from the band saw blade.  The only other voids are the tunnels.  I have an old microwave that I could use in my shop for cooking,[xx(] er, drying.  

Also, I am very interested in stabilizing, but have no idea where to start.  I have a 5 Gallon bucket of anchorseal, but that won't strengthen the wood.  I also am hoping to be able to sell what I stabilize.  I cut some 1-1/8" blanks and stacked them with some 1-1/8" slabs of the stuff.  They are separated by 1/4" square strips of pine and they are drying straight, so far.  Is there a bath I can put them in to make them hard?  I know that people use some kind of polymer blend or sanding sealer.  How does that work?  How do I get the supplies?[?]  Thanks you.


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## Fred in NC (Jul 25, 2005)

I second the above advice.  Be sure to cut the blanks at least 1" square, or even a bit more, because they will have to be trued later.


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## Dario (Jul 25, 2005)

Look at Minwax wood hardener...maybe what you want but not sure if it will be your best choice.  They are not cheap either []

I have some that I "stabilized" this way but haven't tried it yet.  I will let you know (or post) once I got one done from those stock.


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## ctEaglesc (Jul 25, 2005)

If you are going to sell this after home stabilizing I wouldn't advertise it as "stabilized" the results from a home stabilizing set up is no where the job you would get from a commercial source that uses heat and pressure as opposed to a vacuum.
I have turned a lot lof "punky" woods but needed to stabilize with CA after I home stabilized them.
there is a lot of information on this site.
Do a search on stbilization both current and in the archives.
Get a drink and a relaxing chair, there's enough information to keep you occupied for a while.[]


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## alamocdc (Jul 25, 2005)

Rob, I have some spalted maple crotch wood that I home stabilzed using polyurethane and the vacuum techinques from this site. I turned my first piece last night and it was a 100% improvement over what I had. However, like Eagle said, it is not the same as commercial stabilizing and the cost of the checmicals involved can get quite high depending on what you choose to use. This could make it very difficult for you to get a decent return on your investment so be careful.


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## BigRob777 (Jul 25, 2005)

Eagle,
What happened to your stars?  I will do a search.  The last time I did one, I didn't know about the search function on the hope page, so I did it manually and didn't get much.  I will cut up the hard stuff and then see about home stabilizing, or sending it out.  Any suggestions as to whom I should send them?  I live in Delaware, so local would be cheaper for shipping.  Thanks, all of you, for your help.  I forgot to upload the picture in the original post, so I inserted it a few minutes ago.


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## Fred in NC (Jul 25, 2005)

Would that be considered Ambrosia maple?  The coloring is due to some beetles feeding on it, and leaving some ... waste by-products behind.


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## BigRob777 (Jul 25, 2005)

Fred,
The spalt lines are definitely spalt, as they do not coincide at all with worm hole paths and the coloration is consistent with spalting.  Good thinking though.  I just got an offer to stabilize my maple burl blanks, which sounds really good to me.  I still want to learn the craft.  I want to keep this wood selling as a hobby, but it wouldn't hurt to have the equipment to do some major stabilizing.[8D]

Billy,
How deep did the poly go into the wood?  I also got the burl at a great price.  The good burl more than made it worth the price, so basically the stabilizing will be the major cost.  As long as I can recap those costs, and then some to pay for my equipment, then I have come out ahead.


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## alamocdc (Jul 25, 2005)

Rob, with my Maple it appears to have gone all the way through (at least on the piece I've turned). It is important to note that I left the blanks in the poly for three days and I drilled the center 1/8". Based on the weight differential, it also appears to have completely saturated the Ash and Willow, but I'm not so sure about the Pecan.


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## BigRob777 (Jul 25, 2005)

Billy
PM sent.
Thanks,
Rob


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## ctEaglesc (Jul 25, 2005)

Stars?? what stars?


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## swm6500 (Jul 25, 2005)

Rob, you might want to check with River Ridge to see how much to stabilize.


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