All Replies on Can anyone identify this?

Where the heck did you find that? I have no idea what it is, burl/root/rootburl. Is it very hard? You could use a bit of it to make a pipe bowl if it is dense enough.

-- Dave- New Brunswick

I clean these out of the back yard every day. We have a basset hound that loves to eat ;^)

-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

It seems to be hard and dense, but not heavy for it’s size. It was a part of a craigslist purchase, a local woodturner was giving it up and sold his turning stock.

Gee, thanks lew! (insert big cheesy grin here)

-- It must be jelly baby, cause jam don't shake like that...

Do you think it might be Brier wood? We need to see a slice and get some idea of the grain pattern.

-- Dave- New Brunswick

Prehistoric Bone?

-- How am I doing? Better than I deserve. Dave Ramsey

i think it looks like my stomach ,

after ” ducky ” on NCIS ,

gets done with me !(LOL)

-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle

It does look like a burl. You could turn it or slice it and make clocks from the the slices or whatever you decide you want.

-- (You just have to please the man in the Mirror) Mike from Michigan -

Oh come on folks, I think its beautiful, it reminds me of something, not too sure what, hmmm.

-- Dave- New Brunswick

a potatoe!

-- My purpose in life: Making sawdust

what ever you do with it ,
you have to cut it somewhere ,
then we can see what it looks like inside .

-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle

Fossilized Godzilla gonads!

-- Caulk and paint are a poor carpenter's best friends

I think I saw that on the SciFi movie I was watching the other day. haha

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

It looks like Manzanita to me. Probably from an arid area of CA or nearby state.
If I’m correct, do I win it????

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

Hairy PLease do not cut it but try to turn 2 or 3 bowl in it as a whole it will be tricky but worth the effort.
I say this with out knowing the size of your lathe. If u have a swivel head u are ok or outboard will do, good luck and post what ever u do. keep safe.
Regards Roger In SA
ps It is fossilised dragon entrails ha ha ha

-- Africa is not for sissies

Thanks everyone!

I think I’ll wait until I have a project in mind before cutting into it.

-- It must be jelly baby, cause jam don't shake like that...

does it smell bad?

-- keeping myself entertained

its a tree tumor … is that what a burl is?

-- Chuck, Washington D.C.

I’m positive, it’s Manzanita root/burl.

As for a project, it could be a bowl or display piece. First, clean it up by carefully removing the odd twigs and dirt/rocks that may be creviced inside. Then lightly sand the wood and it will reveal the burl pattern. You can use a belt sander to eliminate more and shape it. It looks like it would have an interesting pattern and with the natural hollowed shape, could become a dish. You may need to fill in some major gaps with an epoxy/wood filler, just add your favorite wood dust to the epoxy, dry, then sand. Coat with a poly/tung finish.

I’ve used this technique for most of my Manzanita canes and this one was extremely odd shaped like your piece of wood: http://lumberjocks.com/projects/10288

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

Definitely Manzanita burl.

This box was made out of a piece that started out looking EXACTLY like that…

-- Happy woodworking! http://www.blakeweber.us