Drying Burrs

[Blackswanwood]

I have been given a couple of burrs (oak and sycamore) by the arborist working on the woods behind my house but don’t really know the best way to go about drying them.

They are currently still attached to a good chunk of trunk and I am thinking that I should leave them like this, seal the bare wood and store them for a couple of years before attempting to do anything with them? Eventually I would like to be able to slice them on the bandsaw into veneers.

If anyone has any experience of processing burrs into veneer and can either confirm or correct the above I will be grateful!

 

[Sean Hellman]

Sounds good and it depends on how big they are. Oak can take years to dry, so if I have a big one I usually at least cut it in half and leave to dry. Dry somewhere out of the sun and wind, both are killers for too fast drying. I just leave and forget. Sycamore can stain and rot easily, so somewhere dry and where the air can circulate will be good, also watch out for woodworm. I have also just sawn oversize planks and stickered up and dried if I want them quicker

 

[MikeG.]

..........it depends on how big they are......

I was in a local woodyard about 10 days or a fortnight ago, and they had two oak burrs about 6 feet wide and 8 feet high. I didn't see how thick they were, but they were at least a heavy table top thickness. £2000 each. I've never seen anything like it.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Unfortunately mine are a bit smaller ... circa 16 inch diameter.