300 Burls

Every so often luck comes your way and in this case, it was in the form of a phone call from a man who works in a lumber mill.  Burls are cut off when preparing trees to be sawed into boards at a mill.  Often burls are discarded or burned but fortunately they were set aside until the pile became unmanageable.

Burls are the irregular growths that occur spontaneously on the sides of trees when exposed to trauma, insects or stress.  Most people would think of them as ugly and unwanted parts of the tree but to Brian, they hold the mystery of the forest, just waiting to be discovered on the lathe.  Brian bought the whole load of 300 seasoned burls and has started to turn a few of them.

The burls came in all shapes and sizes and were primarily yellow birch and maple from the Muskoka area.  Brian sorted through the pile, found a dry spot to store them and chose a few to begin to turn on the lathe.  The Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour is two weeks away so he wanted to have a few ready for sale.

Yellow Birch and Maple Burl Bowls

 

The unique characteristics of each burl determine the shape, colour and grain of each bowl.  Brian loves the challenge of finding the extraordinary within the discarded piece of wood, allowing the inner beauty of each bowl to be revealed.

 

Limberlost Woodturning is open for the Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour on September 22, 23 and 29, 30 from 10:00 am  to 6:00 pm and we would love to see you. For more information, go to:

 

www.muskokaautumnstudiotour.com



 

Maple Burl Bowl with a Live Edge

 



From the Forest to the Kitchen: Yellow Birch Burl

Cutting up a Burl

In October 2010, I wrote about Brian cutting up a yellow birch burl and preserving the pieces by sealing the cut edges.  This allowed the wood to dry slowly and evenly, without cracking.

Yellow Birch Burl Bowl

This winter, one of the larger yellow birch sections was ready to turn on the lathe.  There was a sense of excitement as Brian cut into the burl that he had harvested from the fallen Rebecca Lake tree.  He followed the natural shape of the wood to reveal the intricate grain and colour variations. The underside of the bowl recalls the unusual curves of the burl.

Woodturning is an art which brings elements of nature, warmth and texture into your home. The smooth, food-safe finish ensures that the journey from the forest to the kitchen brings pleasure as you use the bowl to serve and display your food.

Maple Burl Bowl

The creation of a special bowl begins with careful examination of a burl, the discovery of the character within, and results in the satisfaction of creating a work of art from nature.



A burl is a rounded outgrowth on the trunk of a tree that forms when the tree ungoes stress such as an injury or fungus.  Burls are prized for the beauty of their rare and highly figured grain.  This sugar maple burl was discarded by loggers in a nearby Bella Lake property as part of a forest management program.  

Brian mounted the burl on the lathe and shaped the bottom of the bowl.  A wide base and a curved lip developed as the burl rotated and Brian carved the profile with his gouge.  The wide wings were maintained and they give a graceful, elegant shape.

The orientation of the burl was then reversed and the chuck was attached to the bottom to form the inner contour of the bowl.  The inside of a burl is always a mystery until the cuts are made. This burl has outstanding colour and figuring.

Brian worked for over a week on the final finishing details of sanding, buffing, and many coats of oil, with exceptional results.  The bowl has a live edge, bark inclusions and rich variations in colour.

The Muskoka sugar maple burl from the forest lives on as a beautiful, natural work of art. 

Box Elder Burl Bowl

The process of turning a beautiful burl bowl begins with a chainsaw.  Often the irregularly shaped knob from the side of the tree sits in the workshop for years until it is dry enough to turn.  Brian studies the burl and shapes it so that he can mount it on the lathe and sculpt it to its final form.

The grain of a burl is unknown until the tools begin to carve away the bark and the intricate patterns and colours are revealed.  Box elder has a very fine texture and often produces beautiful coral-coloured streaks.

Brian decided to create a bowl shape from this burl and used a very sharp gouge to make a graceful rounded form.

Brian then flipped the burl and attached a chuck to the bottom so that he could carve out the top.  He drilled a depth-finding hole and as the lathe rotated the burl, he turned out the interior of the bowl.  Already the bark inclusions, spalting and red streaks are visible.

A few inches of bark were left on the edge of the burl and the final sanding, oiling and buffing were completed.

The finishing process can take up to a week as the bowl is allow to dry between coats of oil and then mounted on the lathe for further applications. The result is a lustrous food-safe finish that enhances and protects the wood.

The final box elder burl bowl is a delight to behold.  The character of the forest is evident in the bark live edge, the intricate figuring and the dramatic natural colouring of the wood. 

This final photograph, taken by Kelly Hollinshead, demonstrates the inherent beauty of this rare and unique piece.

http://www.kellytheshutterbug.com/

Maple Burl Vessels

We are back from a relaxing week in the sun in Cozumel and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  Brian was happy to get back to the workshop but at the end of the day, we are snowed in and enjoying the fire.

While we were away, some of Brian's work was at the photographer.  Here are the professional photos of the pieces that I profiled in the last post.  The details of the live edge maple burl vessels are beautifully evident in these pictures.



Live Edge Maple Burl Vessels

Winter has arrived and life at the cottage includes fun in the snow with family and friends. 

 Brian has chosen a few blocks of maple burl to create live edge vessels.  It is a delicate balance to find the perfect shape which compliments the wood without competing with the beauty of its natural features.

The final vessels are simple in design to accentuate the characteristics of grain, figuring and the live edge.

The joy of having decorative burl in your home is the warmth and tactile pleasure of touching the wood and the sense of being connected to nature.