Looking to turn reel seat inserts using burl wood.
Is there easy way of harvesting burls without chopping whole tree down or harming the tree?
Cheers
Martin

How about triming the limbs
Good Wraps Bob

Thanks Bob,
That's an easy solusion but I am looking at one particular burl which grows on lower trunk.
cheers
Martin

Just a add on to past post . How about using a core borer, and bore out areas in the trunk of the tree.
Good Wraps Bob. You do know you well have to slow cure the wood so it does not split or creak.
Good Wraps Bob

I recently turned a beautiful burl fly handle using a section of burl I found on a deadfall. I coated it with four coats of permagloss (looked beautiful), assembled the reel seat, and set it aside for a few weeks. I went back to mount it onto a fly rod blank-- and saw that the whole wooden insert had warped and puckered.

Bob, you hit the nail on the head. I had left the burl in the garage and only let it dry for a few weeks. Won't make that mistake again!

John

Martin With a burl you should be able to remove a small segment without hurting the tree. I maybe wrong but a burl is something like a protective scab on a tree where the tree was damaged at one time. I would go to a nursery, ask them what would be thr proper way to remove a segment of burl. Just remember before you start working on that peice of wood. . The wood should slow cure to eliminate splitting and creaking. So I would get the peice of wood you need in rough cut form and let it cure in a moderatly warm place for 6 months before starting any work on it. I believe there is a special process used to impregnate the woods used in reelseat. I know Andy Snedden has some expeience with wood for fly rod reelseats. Do a search for Andy's email.
Good Wraps Bob

To add another suggestion you could send it off and have it stabilized. I wouldn't know the cost associated, but I'm sure someone here will. I'm surprised someone hasn't already suggested this.

Bill in WV

Thanks guts,
As suggested by Bob, I might seek an arborist for his advice. It is quite large (and old) tree, and if I kill it i may have to leave the country.
Cheers
Martin

If you don't want to waste a good peice of wood be sure to seal the end grains. Moisture will leave via the end grains faster than through the sides. This will cause stress forces which usually will cause the wood to split. many years ago I think I read concerning gun stock wood to get it to nominal dryness is that they figure it takes about 2 years per inch thinkness, but I am not sure of the exact numbers. Years ago I had some maple and other kinds of logs delivered for cutting up for fire wood. I took the Maple to a friends to have it cut in slabs from 1 1/2" to about 4" thick. I then got a bunch on parifin and melted it and brushed on a good thick coat on the end of the planks to force the wood to dry out the sides instead of the easy ends. I got close to 100% crack free. I also think if you are going to cut the burl off the tree, I would put some sort of sealer on the tree where the burl was removed. I would imagine though if the area was too large that you will be stopping sap flow up that side of the tree. A good arborist (sp) should be consulted.

Kerry

If you simply cut of the burl it guarantees and early, but not immediate death for that tree. Here is why: Trees have the ability to erect barriers to disease and fungal infections. This process is called CODIT (acronym, not shouting)-- Compartmentalization Of Disease In Trees. The weaker of these is a tissue called ray parenchyma (the "ray fleck" that makes quarter-sawn oak so distinctive), the stronger is new xylem tissue, in other words a new annual ring. When you prune a branch, the there are many annual rings (new xylem) to wall off the branch stub. If you look at knotty pine you can see interlocking growth between branch stubs (at least the ones cut in longitudinal section) and the rest of the wood. This is where CODIT occurs. The stub rots, making a nice nesting hollow for various “critters”, but the rot will be unable to migrate further into the trunk so the tree as a hole is protected. If the main trunk is wounded, the rot introduced will migrate into the center of the tree in a "pie slice" shape, because of the ray barriers, but eventually break through and produce a hollow cylinder the diameter the tree was at the time it was wounded. The year after the wound was produced there will be a new annual ring, which the rot cannot cross, stopping the process. So, if you wound a sapling, no big deal. The tree is growing fast will remain sturdy with a small hollow in its center that does no reel harm. If you wound a mature tree, on the other hand, you get a huge hollow; the tree will loose its supporting structure and eventually crumble under its own weight. The nice heartwood will be destroyed in the process. This leaves you with an all or nothing situation-- either cut it down and use all that nice wood, or leave it be.

This is a symplistic explanation, if you google CODIT (or any of the other key words used here) you can find out more than you ever wanted to know about tree decay and lots of diagrams.

PS-- you can get soaks to stabilize small blocks of your own wood from most good wood turning catalogues.