Birch Burl?

[BorderReiver]

A few references to birch burl appear in messages.

What does burl look like on the tree?

 

[Tantalus]

lotsa side shoots coming off, many of them die, only to have the tree try again with more shoots next year again

probably forming a lump on the side of the tree

have a look at old elms or limes for other trees that do this

each sprout needs to be connected to the heartwood (xylem) and live outer wood (phloem) so each sprout creates its own little ringlet in the pattern pushing and squashing its neighbours in the process

it is this mass of fibres growing in all sorts of directions that makes the wood curly instead of straight grained

Tant

 

[Paganwolf]

A Birch burl looks like this

and what Tant said

 

[tomtom]

i have always wondered.. does it dammage the tree to cut one off?

it must open up a large area to infection!

 

[alick]

Ace description Tant. Always known what they look like inside and out but never appreciated how the sideshoots created the pattern.

Oh and BTW - if my experience is typical, underneath all that bark in Paganwolf's photograph above, the burl in the wood itself could be really small, perhaps only an inch or two thick

Cheers :biggthump

 

[Realgar]

Are they by any chance caused by the same organisms that cause the 'witches broom' effect. I used to see a lot of trees, especialy birch with the condition around Hereford but around Coventry it doesn't seem to be so common.
there's a whole load of things that can cause it but all secrete plant growth hormones to do so. The most common cause on birch is the fungus Taphrina betulina.
Realgar

 

[Buckshot]

i have always wondered.. does it dammage the tree to cut one off?

it must open up a large area to infection!

In a word Yes it does damage a living tree I think

Cheers

Mark

 

[tomtom]

thanks Mark.. :biggthump im not a big burl fan even though they look nice, i have mapped all the birch trees in the wild around here are i can count them on my hands so i dont think i will go cutting bits off them

 

[Tantalus]

have a word with a local forrester or tree sugeon if you want a burl

mostly they are difficult to split for firewood so they will give you them for free when they fell the trees

unless it is specialist timber being felled for its grain

next step is to store them somewhere dry ish and airy for a couple of years

hopefully they will not split, a lot depends on the sixe of the log, the bigger the better but big takes longer to dry

Tant

 

[Wayne]

have a word with a local forrester or tree sugeon if you want a burl

mostly they are difficult to split for firewood so they will give you them for free when they fell the trees

unless it is specialist timber being felled for its grain

next step is to store them somewhere dry ish and airy for a couple of years

hopefully they will not split, a lot depends on the sixe of the log, the bigger the better but big takes longer to dry

Tant

I havent tried carving a burl yet but i thought it might be better to carve it green to reduce the amount of material so it can dry quicker thus less chance of spilting. Is this the wrong approach?

 

[Paganwolf]

if you make the walls to thin to quickly and it drys out to quick it will split if you blank it out leaving the walls of your cup thick and allow it to dry slowly, say outside in a shed you will have more chance of it staying in one piece, they are very hard when completely seasoned though and you will have a job to carve a large one ..

 

[hootchi]

I havent tried carving a burl yet but i thought it might be better to carve it green to reduce the amount of material so it can dry quicker thus less chance of spilting. Is this the wrong approach?

That is the correct approach. You have to be careful in drying the cup(i presume that is what you are carving) too quickly or it will split. To dry it slowly wrap it in wet rags.

I have heard that on this forum but someone please correct me if im wrong.

Hootchi

 

[BorderReiver]

Very usefull.Thankyou for the information. :You_Rock_