How to find and harvest legal burls!

I have just networked with local tree services for the last several years…burls grow in town too. They bring me all the ones they have to remove.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

Yes Tree services are a great resorce.

-- Greg, Southern Oregon, www.oregonburls.com

Nice blog. I look forward to more photos of your finds. Do you know how the spiney maple burl above came out in a project? I spied that earlier when you were selling it, but it looked like it had too many voids for my needs.

I’ve seen some trees locally that have some awesome burls and have a friend who’s on a neighborhood committee to replace the aging cherry trees and may be able to acquire some when they cut them down.

So Hey, do you find burls at a Burlesque? I like them burled, burley guys. }:)~

-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe

Hey Greg
Interesting Blog .Looks like we are both in the southern Oregon area.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

i dont think the police would pull someone over for having a burl in their truck around here lol

It is a federal offence for the illegel harvest of burl. I have know 2 burlers who have been pulled over and arrested. Poaching is a big deal here in Oregon. I would imagine because we have so meny of them. They are easy to steal.

-- Greg, Southern Oregon, www.oregonburls.com

Gee, I wish we had trees in West Texas. I am envious of the access you have to all that wonderfull burl.
Do you ship to Texas?
Great to have you on Lumberjocks.

-- Kent Shepherd * The goal is-----More Tools!

Interesting….....I’ve seen these but didn’t realize they were useful. Good post.

I’m going to go and put on some water to burl to make burled eggs.

-- Doug, New Mexico.......the only stupid question is one that is never asked!........don't fix it, if it ain't broke!

Thanks for the post, Greg. This has been an informative blog.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Man I wish I could find some of that burl around here. Guess I need to contact a tree service and see if they can get me some. I’m with Kent. Can you ship to NC?

-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps

You bet. I ship to the East Coast all the time. It is pretty economical also.

-- Greg, Southern Oregon, www.oregonburls.com

Thanks for posting, im gettideas rushing through my head now haha, no sleep for me tonight.

-- A hammer dangling from a wall will bang and sound like work when the wind blows the right way.

Great post, how do you pay for the burls you buy, I would think that “board feet” doesn’t always cut it when sizing small burls. Is there a going rate for them in your area?

-- Paul Sayre Creativity is a drug I cannot live without. Cecil B. DeMille (1881 - 1959)

What’s the process for drying burls?

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

It is different with each speice. Madrone is a pretty intense process. Maple fairly easy. If you are turning a bowl with maple you just need to rough turn it and let is sit in a cool place for a few months.

-- Greg, Southern Oregon, www.oregonburls.com

I live in Pheonix, AZ and down one road for an entire mile, 3 out of 4 tres along the road have burls on them.

TOO bad they are not on private land. At least then I might be able to get purmission.

Scrappy

-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!

Greg, very cool blog. I didn’t realize that burls are that common, they are not around here in southern IN.

-- We are the people our parents warned us about.

what other uses do burls serve besides making turnings and other woodworking related items?

i mean WHY is it a federal offence? surely a handful of woodworkers out there cutting trees down to get the burls cant be enough reason for a federal law

My Understanding of the reason is back in the 80 and 90 and even up into 1 year ago there was a hay day for veneer burls. A lot of the burls were being shipped over seas to veneer plants that were cutting for the European car market. Sometime a burl could be worth $12,000-$15,000. Now that was a large one but never the less. Lots of money. So that encouraged the dishonest people to go onto public lands and harvest them illegally.

-- Greg, Southern Oregon, www.oregonburls.com

like everything else, very few mess it up for the rest of us =/....anyways, kinda hard to find big burls down here (although i have not looked that hard i admit, but in general not many big trees come down in mission viejo that aren’t eucalyptus)...i’m not looking for more wood at the moment, as my side and backyards are nearly full lol…just wondering though, what are the shipping rates usually like? u sell per pound wet i assume? i’d be interested in the future for some select gifts/projects…

Very Interesting blog. We have a lot of burls here in Norway, but I haven’t gotten any.

-- Mike, American in Norway

Nice pix of nice burls, Greg. Here in Ontario there a lot of burls, especially maple. Other species include spruce, birch and oak. My favourites include big-leaf maple from the west coast (especially Oregon). I really like turning caps (the first or second slices cut from a large burl) that allow me to leave a natural edge on my turnings. There are a couple on my project page. Sources of big-leaf maple burls seem to be deminishing in Canada especially for caps. Do you ship across the border? Fumigation required?
I have very little luck finding burls, personally, but I do have a lot of people that know I turn them. Spread the word and you’ll be surprised. Give back a turned piece once in a while and you’ll have a dedicated searcher for life.

-- Ken in Sharbot Lake, Ontario

I am sure that you have tree service companies. You should call them as see if you can get some from them or offer to pay for them.

-- Greg, Southern Oregon, www.oregonburls.com

Thanks for posting this. I’m gonna start paying attention when I see trees getting cut down around town.

Bothus

-- Professional kitchen designer, amature woodworker.

What are some of the going rates for burls?

-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps

It depends on your area. Weather you are purchasing retail or off your neigbor. Where there are lots of burls and poeple know about them you have to pay more.

-- Greg, Southern Oregon, www.oregonburls.com

Great post! Thanks for the information. I’m 20 miles from the Cherokee National Forest and there are 640,000 acres of public land. Permits are available to remove firewood. I wonder if any of that firewood is damaged enough to form burls… I might have to check it out soon. Permits are usually available after an area is logged and the loggers always leave crotches, stumps and gnarly wood behind.

-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com

That is a great time to get burls…

-- Greg, Southern Oregon, www.oregonburls.com

Some beautiful looking wood.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I thought that I would put more pics on. Burls are fun!!!~ This is where I use to work. Glad I dont do that any more.
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Another Great place to look for burls or good figured wood is on the Beach!

-- Greg, Southern Oregon, www.oregonburls.com