# Which do you prefer...Maple Burl or Curly Maple?



## Dario (Feb 18, 2009)

Just wondering which of these two wood "feature" you find more appealing for pens.

I originally was going to try general burl or curl but it would be tougher.

Thanks


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## TellicoTurning (Feb 18, 2009)

Hey Dario,
From my point of view, the curl is a lot less pronounced than the burl... if we were voting, I would vote burl.


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## Dario (Feb 18, 2009)

Chuck,

We are voting...the software doesn't let you do the poll before posting though so there is a few seconds (or minutes) lapse before the poll shows.


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## bad (Feb 18, 2009)

Dario:
There is a company that processes curly maple in Quebec, Canada. This product looks spectaular when turned into a pen. What they do is put the wood into a big kiln and vacuum the air out of it. They then heat the kiln up to between 150 and 300 degrees C. The wood doesn't burn because the air has been vaccumed out. The wood does get toasted. The process is called torrafaction (probably spelled wrong). I have since found out that this is the same process that some companies use for processing coffee beans. This is IMHO much nicer than burl.


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## jskeen (Feb 18, 2009)

In general, and for maple in particular, I prefer true burl, IE having closed eyes and no straight grain, for pens.  Now for flatwork, all the different varieties of maple; fiddleback, curly, birdseye, have their place, but on something as small as a pen, the stripes or curls just don't have the wow factor of burl.  YMMV, but he did specifically ask for opinions.


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## cozee (Feb 18, 2009)

Well, I  guess it would depend on the individual piece. I have seen burls that do not come close to a super curly piece, and vise versa. All in all, I'll take super curly every time.


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## workinforwood (Feb 18, 2009)

Hmmmm...see if it's just a plain ole blank,then a burl is best, but if you are decorating it in any way, either through segments or pentarsia, then I'd have to vote for curl because a curl will add to the blank without overwhelming it.


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## marcruby (Feb 18, 2009)

I'm withholding my vote -- because my answer is BOTH!!!!

Marc


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## Bear-31 (Feb 18, 2009)

I voted for the burl...but curly can look good too if it is really curly. Both look really good dyed also.


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## Gary Max (Feb 18, 2009)

Heck to make it even more fun---Spalted---Burl---Ambrosia---Curly--and figured maple.
I sell all Five


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## TellicoTurning (Feb 18, 2009)

Dario said:


> Chuck,
> 
> We are voting...the software doesn't let you do the poll before posting though so there is a few seconds (or minutes) lapse before the poll shows.


Went back and voted..


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## mrburls (Feb 18, 2009)

Burl is my favorite for turning pens. And dying them makes it even more fun. Curly maple also is a favorite for furniture and small boxes. You can really make that curly pop in a quality piece of lumber. 

Keith "mrburls"


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2009)

Burl. There is only.... burl.


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## Dario (Feb 20, 2009)

Looks like burl won by almost 2:1

Thanks guys!


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## Scott (Feb 20, 2009)

I LOVE Curly Maple!

Scott.


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## gmcnut (Feb 21, 2009)

I like curly maple. Especially when dyed. I've had good luck using Sharpie markers to do this.


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