Maple burl
is
created by an unusual growth on trees that results in a highly figured piece of
wood.
Artisans seek after
this finely figured wood to create unique pieces of fine art, hand crafted items
and musical instruments.
Be sure to check out our Terre
Bella Finishes products.
Terre Bella Finishes products are
so popular because of their outstanding quality and because they can be combined
with one another without changing or compromising the colors or performance of
the products! You save money because there’s no need to buy hundreds of
different products. With just a few basic items you have what you need to create
an almost endless array of colors and finishes!
I have used the Pure Color and Old
World Peasant Paint on my burls and they are amazing. The finest quality paint
and pure pigment so you can virtually create any color giving you an unlimited
palette of colors. They work on just about any material.
Check them out!
Big Leaf Burled Maple
Burl is the most common
figured in woods of all kinds and has been considered a prized possession
for centuries. In the raw log, burl
appears as large lumps or bunions in the
side of a tree. When the bark is pealed off, numerous sharp points or
tightly clustered round bumps will be on the wood surface. In the wood
grain, the pattern of burl can vary between very small circles to large
clusters of random circles. When flat sawn, the pattern is most distinctive.
Quarter-sawn burl can give a higher degree of reflective iridescence,
which is beautiful when turned or carved.
Big Leaf Maple is very similar to
the standard sugar maple found on the east coast, as a burl though it is very
distinctive. Consistent curly figure and numerous bark inclusions which
can create interesting small turnings.
Burl appears to be caused
primarily by a genetic flaw and/or stress, which forms dormant buds. These buds
contain all the genetic information for growing new trees. Injury, disease and
stress seem to cause their initial formation, but why they become dormant
and remain is not completely understood. Burl often appears at the
ground level above the root
where the tree is stressed, although it can also can occur randomly
throughout the tree. A biological process of fungi that occur in maple and
other woods creates spalted figure that can be in the form of burl.
Regardless of the causes of these formations, their natural beauty is
amazing, whether as a finished product or as a raw burl.
Burls appear to be caused
primarily by a genetic flaw and/or stress, which forms dormant buds. These
buds contain all the genetic information for growing new trees. Injury,
disease and stress seem to cause their initial formation, but why they
become dormant and remain that what is not completely understood. Burl
often appears at the ground level above the root where the tree is
stressed,
although it can also can occur randomly throughout the tree. A biological
process of fungi that occur in maple and
other woods creates spalted figure that can be in the form of burl.
Regardless of the causes of these formations, their natural
beauty
is amazing, whether as a finished product or as a raw burl.
Some of our customers have sent us
photos of some of their artwork done on the maple burls they have purchased from
us. We thought you might enjoy seeing some of the wonderful things
you can create with maple burls. These are very talented artists who have
turned very unusual pieces of wood into works of art. They have used their
imagination to take an unusual and often strange shaped piece of wood and turned
it into a unique piece of art.
The photo on the top right is of
a burning done by Frederick Hirsch of a Keeshonden, Keanna. Top left and
the middle burning on the left are
burnings of a falcons done by Gordon Watrous. The wolf on the right was done by Jessie O'Brien. The
burning on the bottom left was done by Chris Whalen for a friend. It's just amazing what you can do with them and how
gorgeous they are when they are finished! If you have a
finished piece that you would like highlighted here please let us know.
Scientific Name:
Acer macrophyllum
Country of Origin: U.S., Pacific
Northwest
Some Common Uses: Turning,
furniture, floor lamps, musical instruments, framing, woodburning, base
for carvings or sculptures
About the maple burl and figured woods we
carry
All of our maple burl & exotic
wood
products are individually inventoried and photographed so you know exactly what
you're
getting. The maple burl slabs are from the burl cap which are hard to come
by. Due to the nature and size of the burl cap it is not easy to get
slices/slabs with the natural edge around all the sides.
We currently have slabs
approximately 1 - 11/4" thick in a variety of shapes and sizes but we can
get blocks
available for turning. Please feel free to contact us if you are looking
for a burl for turning and we will try to get what you need.
Pricing information, sizes, Quality and milling information
The burls are odd shapes and
difficult to measure accurately. The maple burl we have are: cut, air dried, sliced, pressure washed,
Kiln dried, milled and re-cut. They are all ready to use!!!!
Grading and Pricing on the maple burl
varies greatly. The price is determined by many factors including: low
figure quality with flaws and defects to gallery grade with high figure quality,
no flaws or defects. Prices are based on size, color, green vs. dried and
method of drying and processing...the more processing involved, the higher the
cost (i.e., milling, cleaning, sanding, drying). Artisan, Gallery and
museum grade burls can cost 2-3 times the price of the select and select prime
burls. All of the burls we carry are kiln dried and are ready to use.
Because most of our customers are
woodburners we tend to get mostly select and select prime. The prices are
more reasonable and the figuring is not as vivid making it better suited for
woodburning. We do from time to time get artisan and gallery grade and we
can get it by special order.
Burl Grades and descriptions:
Millrun: 30% + Burl
figure showing on one or more major faces, may have bark inclusions, voids and
wane/live edge in body, corners and edges (but not so as to render the block
unstable for turning). Figure presentation is apparent.
Select: 50% + Burl
figure showing on one or more major faces, may have bark inclusions, voids and
wane/live edge in body, corners and/or edges of the best face. Figure
presentation is apparent.
Select Prime: 50% + burl
figure on two or more major faces, bark inclusions and wane limited to corners
and edges of best face only with generally uniform figure throughout the block.
Figure presentation is very apparent.
Artisan Grade: 50% +
Burl figure with one or more of the following: voids, bark inclusions, wane,
live edge, natural top, spalting, wild grain and colors. Custom cut
natural tops [NT] are available by special order. Figure presentation is
very apparent to vivid.
Gallery Grade: 75% + Burl
figure showing on all major faces, defect limited to turnout in corners and
small inclusions on edges of best face or shallow center area of lesser face.
Figure presentation is uniform over 80% of area and is vivid.
Museum Grade: (Rare)
90% + Burl figure showing on all major faces, no defects other than corner
turnout. Uniform and tight figure with uniform color (creamy white, pink,
red, browns). Color can be specified on custom cuts. Figure
presentation is dramatic.
NOTE:
Prices vary according to the grade. We will primarily be carrying Select and
Select Prime but will also have some Artisan and Gallery
grades available and on occasion. If you have special requests, please let
us know.
Utensil/Spoon Blanks
We now have some utensil/spoon
blanks available in a variety of species such as: ebony, snake wood, pink
ivory, dessert ironwood, eucalyptus, curly maple, cocobolo, KOA, blood wood, purple heart, etc.
Al has been carving these and they
are just gorgeous. 
SPECIAL ORDERS
If you have a special request for
maple burls, blocks, caps or figured wood for utensil blanks please let us know
and we will try to get it for you.
Shipping Information
We try to ship all
orders out within 24 - 48 hours. If we are at a show, we can usually ship most
orders within a few days. If there will be a delay in shipping we will let
you know. Shipping charges are calculated upon checkout. Woodburners
and most orders are
shipped FedEx Ground, please ensure you provide a physical address.
Smaller orders (such as pens and books) are shipped via USPS.
International orders
If you life outside the USA
please contact us directly to order. We
will try to assist you with processing your order in the most economical way.
Orders will normally be shipped by the USPS global mail. If you wish to
have the ability to have tracking for your order we can ship by Express mail.
Please email us your order and we will give you a price quote on your order.
NOTE! we MUST
have your telephone number FOR SHIPPING.
If you need expedited
shipping services, please let us know
(contact us to discuss
the FedEx Express service and rates that best meet your needs).
MAILING LIST FOR
BURL, FIGURED WOOD & UTENSIL
BLANKS SHIPMENTS
If you wish to be contacted
when we get a new shipment of burls and utensil blanks,
please click here.
Please be sure to provide your full name in the message area.
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have spam blocker please add
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NOTICE:
Larger sized burls area heavier and
require oversized boxes so we will bill you
directly through pay pal rather than
you ordering directly online.
Just email your order and we will calculate shipping and
handling and send you an invoice
through pay pal.
We try to update this page when items
sell but it's not always possible.
We recommend you
email us first before ordering
to ensure availability.
UPDATED 11/18/08
ITEMS MARKED SALE PENDING ARE NOT
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
When payment is received
the button will be removed
