Carving 3 Bowls out of a Birch Burl

My next woodworking project.
I finally got my hands on a large Birch burl. Large enough to make 3 separate bowls out of. The wood was badly rotten in several places and I had to remove quite a bit of wood. I deliberately left some in the wood because the color differences between the healthy and bad wood would give nice effects when oiled. With all 3 bowls I only used a Makita angle grinder, Bosch Blue detail sander and a Dremel multitool. I don't really need anything else.

The large bowl took me 16 hours total, and another 4 for the 2 smaller bowls.
I am happy to the bowls turned out. Especially on the 2 smaller bowls the grain is stunning! It reminds me of white marble. The large bowl has numerous chaotic grain and interesting colors thanks to the bad wood.

I used Lemon and Danish oil, as well as shellac and polyurethane to finish the bowls.



These bowls where made in a lousy, dusty and cold shed, Netherlands.

Useful websites:
http://www.saburr-tooth.com/
EU, UK, NL website for ordering Saburr-Tooth equipment: http://www.chainsawcarvingtools.eu/

NL houtbewerkersforum: http://www.woodworking.nl/index.php

WoodCarving Illustrated message board: http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/forum/
My WCI Gallery: http://tinyurl.com/yfvoyq7

Category:

Howto & Style

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• Bosch
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• rustic furniture
• log furniture
• Chestnut
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• Dremel
• Tung
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• howto
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• Birch
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• making
• lathe
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• Wouter du Bois

[Worrall82]

these kinda bowl you make are much MUCH better than those made on a spinning tour.... i would like to have a saburr tooth disk...

[Mueiwark]

@Worrall82 Thank you, and you should try and get those disks. They're not that cheap, but they last a véry long time as long you don't hit metal. It gives more freedom then lathes.

[Serz1984]

Thank You far a quick answer. :)

If you don't mind, i have another.

Is it possible to cut away burl from a tree so that a tree did not perish?

For me I am on a sign a few birch burls.

I have made a picture. If it is interesting, i can show this.

Thank You.

[Mueiwark]

@Serz1984 No I'm afraid you cannot cut burls from live trees. The wound will be to big, the tree will die. Not to mention it's illegal and you could get arrested if you do. Try and look for trees that are dead, or have fallen down. A tip: try and ask loggers or tree surgeons if you can have burls, or visit saw mills in your country.

[Serz1984]

Hi. Good work. Really good.

But can i ask question?

How do you dry the burls before using it?

How i know, it is a problem for many people, who work with wood.

Drying out, wood always trying cracking.

It can be you know a method, as correct to dry up wood, concretely Burl.

Thank You.

[Mueiwark]

@Serz1984 2 choices. I accept any cracks forming, or I seal the burls with woodglue or old paint, and leave them to dry for a few months. I measure the weight every week, to see how many moisture has evaporated, and when the burl is stable (weight keeps the same). good luck!

[Serz1984]

Thank you. So I will do. On I ask on local sawmills.

And about cutting the burls from live trees, I will choose those trees, where burl it is possible to cut out with the less damage of barrel.

[OutdoorEnthusiast101]

Beautiful work there mate , Trouble is ... There to beautiful to put anything in ! Keep the videos coming

[ninja6kid]

videos are very good and chill music, i can watch this all day.

[Mueiwark]

@TheGhost1066 Heh I know what you mean, the front of my house is almost blocked with all the wood I collect! xD