# Australian old/aged Red Gum Burls, and a fight to the end...!



## robutacion (Mar 14, 2011)

Hi Everyone,

Today was a good day and I brought home a small trailer loaded with something I have been trying to get for a long time, aged Red Gum burls + 2 English Elm logs that I picked up in the way, and it happened as follow:

Last week and completely out of the blue, I received a phone call from this fellow that I never heard of before, he was a auctioneer working for one of the big banks behalf in respect to the auction/sale of some "Deceased Estate" on a property a fair distance from me.

This guy got my contact number from somewhere as one of the people working with wood in the area so he was inviting me to this auction to be held today (Monday - Australia Cup day and public holiday, at 1:00pm).  The reason for the call was due to the fact that the property had a pallet pretty full of Red Gum Burls, that were collected by the old fellow, in the 65 years he lived there.

So, this guy knew something about burled woods and obviously, was his responsibility to get as much money for any items in the property that were under his jurisdiction.  He told me that I was the first one he notified about these old burls but he didn't mention any other names he probably had to contact about the burls, nor he would tell me where this place was, he simple told me (obviously he already did his maths) that the farm for such & such km's  such & such direction from M. Compass...!

During the week I manage to find out that 4 other people would be there for the burls and maybe other farm stuff as everything was going to be auctioned that day.  Apparently the old fellow that lived there, he had for many years passed lots of stock on it and a family but, and like in so many other cases, he apparently was a "cranky" bugger to deal with and no one liked him including his family that endup leaving many years ago so, he spend the rest of his days alone and with no one wanting to have anything to do with him.

With time and as he got older, the live stock was sold and he "lurked about" not doing much till the day he died at the age of 92.  There were outstanding bills to pay to the Bank so, they took over the estate.  The place had lots of large Red Gums and he obviously used the wood for firewood and other things, and in the process of gathering/cutting timber, the burls he found he would cut them out and put them in the back of an old wood tray truck from the 1950's, at the back of the shed and exposed to the weather...!

Looking around today, there wasn't much of value in equipment as such, everything was very old and run-down from lack of maintenance, the house and shed were old and in bad shape but the land was premium stuff with a creek running through it.

Now coming back of my discovery of at least another 4 guys wanting the burls, one I knew who he was, as he is one of the biggest wood guys in Adelaide area and money is no problem to him so I knew that I was in big troubles...!

I remembered a fellow from Melbourne that I have been selling woods for some years and he has more money than what to do with it and if he wants something and you got it or can get it, you name your price and there are no questions asked.  He certainly has some "strange" tastes and can be a little difficult to work with sometimes but he is a man of his word, what he says, goes, no buts...! He was my "secret weapon" and money back up so I felt that I couldn't loose...!:wink:

This fellow had asked me about aged Red Gum Burls from this area, sometime in the beginning of last year and I told him that M. Compass (my Town) area, hasn't got many Red Gums, particularly the very old/large trees, they have been all cut to be used in town and the ones left are small and mostly in private properties.  I remember that he express his utmost interest in some of these type burls, as I remember to tell him that, I rarely see any burls any Red Gums, much less anything with burls but, I promised to keep my eye open, for him...!

Well, this was and ideal opportunity to contact him and let him know of the situation.  I did and the first thing he asked was, how many there are and how big, are you sure is aged Red Gum Burl...??? he asked...!
I responded saying that I had no idea of the first 2 questions and the third, well..., that's what I've been told they are.  I was never given the location to void anyone sneak around and get smart or worse so, the location was only be revealed on the day of the auction, 3 hours before the auction start, which I got a phone call this morning, providing me with the location directions, as I would believe, all others were informed the same way...!

Now, I had a problem on hand, first I had little money on my own as I wanted some of that burl, even if my guy got the winning bid and second, he wanted me to get there as early as possible and take pics of the burls and send them to him, as he would be in Melbourne on standby backing me up.  I don't have a mobile phone anymore, nor I want to have one again, ever...! I needed one of these modern mobile phones with all those facilities so, when I told him that, the only number he has from me is the house number for a reason, I don't want to know about mobile phones, period...!

He quickly offered a solution that in my view was going to be the only way to get the pics to him so that he could see exactly what they were and if they were the size he wanted, etc...! so, he said that he was going to send one of his modern phones with capabilities to do everything he needed, he would set it all up and pre-program the steps to be taken, including one touch button, to connect directly to him.  The phone was also programed to make the agreed amount to the auctioneer via bank transfer, all done by him on his hand...! just amazing stuff I tell you but, I still don't want anything to do with mobile phones, regardless...!

The only thing I had to do was to point and shoot the pics, press a button and the pics were gone to him, in minutes we called back attaching a one of the pics where he marked with a (X) in bright red, the burls he specifically wanted, and how much he was prepared to pay for them.  This left me with all the small ones and some of the medium(ish) for me to value to may own financial capabilities (well, sort off...!:frown but anyway, I had all I needed to attack...!:wink:

The auction started and I've noticed that the person standing on top of this old truck to run the auction was the Big timber fellow from Adelaide, as I notice that his wife was discreetly at one corner pretending to be an spectator, he obviously couldn't bid himself but he got that covered by his wife, this also mean that by selecting this guy, they new he was going to get the most value out of these burls, regardless if he would win or not.  He would had a budget/value/number set as the limit, I'm sure, and if he had no great interest/offers, we would get them for the lowest price possible but, his plans were shot, not longer after it started...!:biggrin: 

The 4 guys and the women bidding were vicious and I had a hell of a fight on my hands but, my back-up money man, was listening and giving instruction so in the end, they had really no chance, this guy had made the decision even before the auction started that these burls were his and that was it, believe me...!

For the very first time in my life, I felt the power of the money behind me and I can tell you, it felt such magnificent, even if for a short period of time/moment.  I am certain that I surprised some people too, I couldn't not to, they didn't see me at any type of risk, and I prove them wrong, yey...!:wink::biggrin:

I picked-up also 2 green logs of English Elm from a place I saw where someone was cutting this three inside of someone's yard so I stopped (mandatory, off-course) and asked about the wood but, the fellow that was cutting is a woodturner also with a few mates also wood turning so, it was all spoken for but I offered him a small burl in exchange for 2 logs and that got me the logs in the trailer...! 2 wins in a single day...??? It was indeed a good day...!

When I got home I took everything from the trailer and put them on the ground so that I could take some pics for my own as I didn't know how to get the pics that were in the phone he send me...!  Anyway I got them and he sent me a fax with all the measurements he wanted each of his burls cut at so that I can put them in boxes and send them to him, together with the phone.

I got cutting after I took the pics as I wanted the burls to be shipped tomorrow morning to, I got each one cut as he asked and by my surprise, we got me cutting 1 (one) single cube out of each one, some of the longer ones gave 2 cubes with exactly the same dimensions all around.  That all he wanted done and I was to keep all the left overs of those bigger burls, and I tell you, is a fair bit of wood in there...!:biggrin: 

So, all is packed and ready to ship tomorrow, I only have to call the courier first thing and wait for them to pick-up.

Weight wise, the total weight for the burls was 358kg, this would be the twice the weight if they were green, for sure...! 
His burls weighted 264kg before processing so I paid for 94kg of them and after his cubes here cut, the clean burled wood weighted 182kg so another 82kg of off-cuts, for my troubles, 1 tank of fuel and my time...!:wink:

I wouldn't had a chance in hell to get any of it, if wasn't for him, the auction was for the lot and not portions of it so, considering what this endup costing me, I still believe I done well...!

The wood itself is very solid, considering the age which I prefer not to assume but I can say a few generations since cut with burls at all sorts of ages as they were cut during a long period of time, before he got too old to handle the wood in the paddocks.

There may be a few extra small stress cracks inside these burls, even tough Red Gum Burl is not all solid to start with but, the age is very noticeable in the wood weight, much darker reds and the most visible proof of age, something man can not recreate/imitate, the thick layer (about 10mm in some burls) of grey(ish) weathered wood at the inner skin layer (edge)!

I still had time to turn a sample out of one piece with the 2 tones and I've got it near me here at the computer but I wait until tomorrow to take a couple of pics in the sunlight, night pics never come up as good, huh...???:wink:

And yes, this wood will be for sale very shortly, as soon as I cut some pen blanks (full and maybe shorts) I will open a thread/add in here (business classifieds).  I will also make some Resifills out of them (which I will have plenty of bits for), they look to be making some top stuff resifills, if I can get the colours and mixings right...!

Be patient, they will be available very soon...!

Cheers
George


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## Gofer (Mar 14, 2011)

Nice score George,

Good to see you get to keep some of the wood for your work / fun.  Looking forward to seeing what the burls look like on the inside.

Bruce


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## avbill (Mar 14, 2011)

i see this George has a gift for gab!


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## robutacion (Mar 14, 2011)

avbill said:


> i see this George has a *gift for gab*!




A gift for gab...???, now you've lost me...!

*Gofer*, yeah I tell you, what a day I had,:smile-big: still endup with a "few" hundred dollars invested in this...!:frown:

Later today I get some more pics in, the sample pics is done with the great sunshine he have today and the other stuff will be done later so, I'm getting there...!

The category I will put this wood for the old burls will be as part of/identified as per, the #9 Colonial Red Gum and not the normal #6 Red Gum, as this is new wood what is also called in the firewood world up here as "green wood", even tough the tree bark has come way from the tree and in most cases totally disintegrated by weather, stock and bugs...! The "green" wood refers to the bright red coloration shown within the log, even if had taken 2 to 5 years to get like that.

The very old Red Gum wood is very dark in colour and becomes even darken when wet or coated with any sort of liquid.  It also tend the get harder as it ages, some of this old wood, would be impossible to drive a nail into it, regardless.  

This one is not as hard tough, indeed very workable and easy to get a good finish on.  The sample I made last night (pics attached) could/should have the fine cracks filled with the fine sawdust from its own wood (not that I was short of it on the bandsaw...!) and some CA but I deliberately decided not too just to see how it would come up...!

This blank was selected for having one edge with some of the aged grey(ish) layer and the rest is the normal burled wood with all those dark eyes so, here it goes...!

Cheers
George


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## nativewooder (Mar 14, 2011)

It's not just what you know, but who you know helps also.  Great haul, George!!:wink:


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## greggas (Mar 14, 2011)

George...lucky you...wish I received calls like that...have fun


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## robutacion (Mar 15, 2011)

Hi peoples,

A few promised pics of these Red Gum Burls...!

I've got a fair bit cut already, in full blanks and shorts plus 2 boxes full of pieces for Resifills, which I will start doing the first batch tonight sometime...! Its 22:30pm so I should have it done by midnight or so...!

Not sure what colours and mixing I'm going to do but, as always, I will thing about it when the wood is set in the molds and is tome to do the mixing, will see!:wink:

I didn't take any pics of the burls I cut yesterday for the other guy, they already left in a pallet this morning.  When I started cutting the "cubes" from the bigger burls I was in a hurry to get them done and pack in the boxes and after I done that I grabbed all the off-cuts from them and slice them all into pen blanks, not thinking of pics then, only after I finish for the day (night) and went home, I realize that the camera was still in the shed and that I din't take any pics of what I was doing.

This morning I took pics of the piles of stripes ready to cut to length and they I decided to grab a few more burls, including the biggest one I was to keep for myself and riped them in half just to show how they look inside.  Interestingly and apart from the fact that so far all the ones I cut are still solid, the cut I made through the center of the burls today, following the direction they were cut from the tree, there is, following the grain/trunk orientation, didn't show a great deal of dark eyes, but they are there when the slices I cut across so, not all burls or should I say, not all the body of the burl have the heavy eyed wood, these are found closer to the edges in some and pretty much anywhere  a heavy eyed patch can appear...!

I've cut these blanks a little over my normal size so that the bigger pens have plenty of meat to work with, these are @ 22+mm square X 130mm on the full blanks and the shorts have the same diameter but only shorter.

In most cases, burled woods are cut as thin as possible to increase the burl yield, therefore, the profitability of its volume/size, most burled blanks are found/sold from 16mm to 19mm square but I'm not interested in any of that, a few blanks yield less on a burl, doesn't make any difference to me, really...!

I have not yet weighted the blanks to work out what can be fitted in the various normal shipping boxes but, that will be sorted sometime soon.

PLEASE, if you have any interest in the wood/blanks, DO NOT make any orders here, or ask for information on prices etc., this is not the place for that, nor I want to get into troubles with IAP rules, as a result.  This thread simply gives you the story and the update on what the situation is at the moment, any more than that with be dealt with, when I open a thread/add for their sale under the business classifieds section...!:wink::biggrin:

Thank you...!

Cheers
George


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## robutacion (Mar 19, 2011)

*Some bits of the old burls dressed up into Resifills...!*

Hi everyone,

I was planing on use the last PR resin of my last 5 gallon drum on something else but since I got these old burls last weekend and having cut a few into pen blanks I kept looking at those nice bits and thing how good they would look mixed with PR resin so, I got a few done until the resin was all gone, damn...!:frown:

One of the things I've learn with casting old red gum wood is that, the blanks after coming out of the pot, cut and whatever, they bleed like hell for a few weeks, some more some less but, amazes me that, with the wood so dense, the resin soaks through and pushes any wood "sap" or natural resins out until it dries and hardens...!

Turning and CA'ing the samples the same day as they come out of the pot (one blank, only of each batch), too excited to see how they come up and no patience to wait so, I get going with them, they are still soft, the joins between the wood and resin are not solid yet and after I spend all the time finishing them with about 10 coats of CA, some I can never reach the "perfect" finish but others come up pretty good, the problem is, the next day the bleeding comes though the CA finish, regardless how many coats I give it, reason why I try to take pics as soon as the blank us out of the lathe, this will continue for a couple of weeks before it hardens enough for the to re-finish it again and put it away in my samples collection...!:wink:

Most of these are made in batches of 18 blanks, and kept a side to dry and allow me to make some others so that I get a few different timbers and colours done, I then make the mixed bundles and list them on my eBay store.  

I started to make bundles of 9 blanks, 1 of each type but now I prefer to make them in bundles of 5 or so...!:biggrin:

These are the first ones done out of the old Red Gum Burls and I'm looking forwards to be able to afford my next order to my resin products supplier and get a few more done with many other colours/mixtures that I want to try them on but that, will take a while, I reckon...!:frown:

So here they are...! sorry for the tease.

Cheers
George


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## David Keller (Mar 19, 2011)

Great haul, George!  I finally turned that round of Ancient Colonial redgum that I got from you, and it's really pretty stuff.  I'll see about getting some photos of it and post them in the 'other things' forum.  It turns well, and it finishes about as nice as anything I've ever turned.

The cut surface of the burls you posted reminds me a bit of manzanita burl that grows here in the US...  Gorgeous stuff.  Thanks for sharing the story and the photos of that gorgeous burl.


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