Burl Urn

Or some kind of vessel

What is a burl? According to Wikipedia, a burl is "a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds. Burl formation is typically a result of some form of stress such as an injury or a viral or fungal infection."

You've probably seen them and didn't think too much of it. To a woodworker though, burls are valuable because inside those weird looking lumps are unique and beautiful grain patterns. Just to be clear, no respectable woodworker would cut a burl off a living tree. We keep our eyes peeled for burls when trees get cut down for other reasons, and we make connections with folks who might have opportunities to source burls for us.

My dad found this burl on a fallen Maple tree in his woods, and generously gave it to me. After letting it dry out for a while (maybe a year and a half, but I don't remember), I decided it was time to see what I could do with it.

I wanted to use as much of it as possible, so I started turning it down to round to see what I was working with. I don't have many in-progress pictures, but here is one showing how I parted off the lid from the body.

I left a bit of the bark on the top of the lid, but I wanted to do something different with it. I decided to turn the lid upside down, so the bark would actually sit inside the vessel, and then I would turn a separate piece of Maple to become the top part of the lid. I also did a bit of basic carving on the lid piece to add a bit of texture, and to balance out the complexity of the burl compared to the simplicity of the clear Maple.

It was a big project for me. This was the first burl I've turned, and also the largest hollowed piece I've turned. It's a beautiful piece of wood though, and I like how it came out. Both the body and the top knob on the lid are Maple, which demonstrates how much difference can be found between a burl vs non-burl wood.