quilted maple

[turningfool]

does anyone out there sell large slabs of higher grades(aaaa or higher)of quilted maple anymore?Most of what i see on ebay or other auctions is cut very thin for guitar making.What i seek is slabs or thick rounds for memorial urns ,which would be turned on my lathe,but as of yet I haven't found any of usable thicknesses.larger burls also catch my attention of most any species,have seen many such burls on state/federal lands here in michigan but cutting them there is obviously against the law.

[Max sawdust]

I was at a county park, where you had to buy firewood.  Noticed it was all hard maple, also noticed quite a bit of it was curly or spalted.  I worked up a chunk, never saw curl so tight

Been tempted to go down and buy some "firewood"
max

[Daren]

Most of what i see on ebay or other auctions is cut very thin for guitar making.larger burls also catch my attention of most any species,have seen many such burls on state/federal lands here in michigan but cutting them there is obviously against the law.

Sorry tf, turners just don't pay what a guy can get (4X) for thin stuff (except pen turners). Turners like to take a 15 lbs piece of wood and make 14 1/2 lbs of shaving  :D, and they buy with that in mind. What kinda burl are you looking for? The first 2 pictures of the burls on the floor are 20-40 lbs, the second picture some of the slabs weigh close to 100 lbs...didn't know how to separate them it was just burl on top of burl .



Or are you just looking for funky wood to turn? Walnut root ?



Or just figured wood in general? Or spalted and figure wood.



This would surely suit a guy as quilted? bout 80 lbs of sugar maple.

[metalspinner]

Daren,
Now your'e just showin' off. :D

[Daren]

Daren,
Now your'e just showin' off. :D

Yea, I reckon I am, just some pictures from my gallery here. If I had a "big fish" picture I would post it too, just too DanG hot to go fishin'.

[SwampDonkey]

Some of that burl figure I've seen on the dash of expensive cars. Don't know if it's still used as much as days gone by. ;D

[Patty]

Donk, that made me laugh out loud!  :D    The burl on the dash of my car hasn't even seen a tree much less is made from a tree! I know my car is not considered an expensive car, and I will probably never even get to be near the cars you are referring to, but I will still play the odds that they are no longer using real burl in them either. Of course I may be wrong, but I am guessing that in the whole scheme of things that the amount of burl being used these days in cars is not a very significant amount.

[Daren]

Most of what i see on ebay or other auctions is cut very thin for guitar making.

Just to follow up. I put this on ebay 2-3 weeks ago, 26 lbs (dry weight) of burl on quilted maple .That is why the pictures are watermarked with my web address, ebay side business from people who don't like to auction and visit my site. I am a turner myself and know it is not perfect for turning, kind odd shaped and it is dry (a couple years old). But it was a nice chunk. No cracks or inclusions, good solid wood. I listed it to test the market...the bidding never got above $22.60  . I kept it for that  :. I sliced about 20% off of it and made some pen blanks I sold for $2.00 each. 12 pens blanks sold for more than anyone offered for the whole chunk...and there has to be close to 100 (?) pen blanks in that thing. I don't know maybe fewer pen blanks, but for sure more than $22.60 worth 

[SwampDonkey]

Yup, Patty I see a lot of that kind of molding to.  ;D I can remember a few mid eighties Buick models with the imitation stuff.

[SwampDonkey]

Trouble is Daren, most turners can get it for nothing. They are constantly scrounging and dealing with local loggers. ;)

[tomboysawyer]

Donk, that made me laugh out loud!  :D    The burl on the dash of my car hasn't even seen a tree much less is made from a tree! I know my car is not considered an expensive car, and I will probably never even get to be near the cars you are referring to, but I will still play the odds that they are no longer using real burl in them either. Of course I may be wrong, but I am guessing that in the whole scheme of things that the amount of burl being used these days in cars is not a very significant amount.

My 1980 Mercedes 450SL had the real thing. People do make aftermarket replacements for the plastic stuff - even in "cheaper" cars.

[getoverit]

I think your Dr. Pepper took a leak on that chunk of burl  :D :D

[beenthere]

I ereased my comment to getoverit...decided to "get over it"

[SwampDonkey]

Nuth'n held ya back before.  ;D

[crtreedude]

I would make friends with people who cut firewood for a living. I bet they could throw a few chunks your way. Splitting the gnarly stuff isn't for the faint of heart, so they might not even charge much.

[Daren]

This would surely suit a guy as quilted? bout 80 lbs of sugar maple.

This came out of a firewood pile  I have referenced the guy before "Curly maple" He split the whole log 34" 14' before I even saw it. I have told other stories about this guy and his passion for burning figured wood  smiley_argue01

[SwampDonkey]

It sure is a shame. There are figured wood buyers around here. I seen one log with a 14" top and 12 feet long go for $1600. It was birdseye and the log was just about perfect, not many of them. ;)

I was in the provincial Archives the other day and all the interior wood was birdseye, even the book cases.  8)

[turningfool]

darren,checked out your website,nicely layed out.a burl is a lot like a christmas present ,you never know what you may get,any burly stuff is what i am looking for,and you are correct about thin boards and quilted maple,unfortunately..most go on ebay for guitar makers,but none the less i'm going to keep an eye open for some just in case 8)

[OneWithWood]

Patty,
I don't know about other marques but Jaguar has a whole plant dedicated to making the dash inlays for their cars.  The woods used that I am aware of are walnut, poplar and elm. Other woods may be available.

[treecyclers]

I get burls from time to time, and have a one tonner on hand right now.
When I get them, I do one of three things.
1) Sell it whole.
2) Chunk it up and sell it off.
3) Slice veneers and make real money from it.
The tonner is for sale, too. Tasmanian Myrtle Burl - think maple burl dipped in red koolaid - at the bargain basement price of $7500 plus shipping.
Superdave

[turningfool]

have seen tasmanial burl,similar to red coolibah also from down under but thats a might steep for me,not to mention that the shipping at todays prices what with fuel surcharges would triple the end price,butif you have any pics of that ton-er post them,would love tp see them ;D

[Don_Papenburg]

Turningfool ,  What about someone who has gun stock  wood for sale.

[treecyclers]

the shipping at todays prices what with fuel surcharges would triple the end price

Actually, I can piggyback it on a load headed to the east coast for a minimal cost (figure $450-500 total) and have it dropped at your place easy cheesy like.
If you have a forklift available to offload, that reduces the cost even further.
Superdave

[Max sawdust]

Daren,
Nice web site.  Hope mine is as nice some day.
Nice burl too..

Turningfool,
I got some cherry burl with tight eyes and lots of figure (some bark inclusion too)  2" thick by 6x10" or so.  Milling a Sugar maple that I thought was not figured, till I planned a thin skirtwood slab, some spalt, little curl, little blister, not alot of any, but if you wanted a slab/chunk, I could cut it, I am just making 5/4 lumber.
max

[turningfool]

i still have to pass on the tasmanian burl but might be interested in some curly maple,or other figured maple of sorst whether its localor otherwise..easy to cut,easy to finish..i'm afrain gunstock stock wouldn't suit my purpose,ty anyway

[turningfool]

received a small slab of aaaaa tiger maple yesterday via e-bay..its only 2" thick but it'll work fine for several small shallow plates..6"x52" will post pics of the finished products as soon as they are completed