Thread: Wild Cherry Galls WIP

Looks like some nice character in there Neil. Look forward to seeing the end results.

Out of the dehydrator now and into re-useable vacuum bags. I have 3 molds ready to cast this afternoon, 1 of Black Locust burl and 2 of the Cherry galls. I'll pull them out of the bags and put them in the oven for 1/2 hour before casting later this afternoon

vac seal1.jpg


Plus a few more bags for later casting/stabilization

vac seal2.jpg

You're dropping some lingo with which I'm unfamiliar there.

What exactly is a gall, and how does it differ from a burl?

Cheers,
Luke

A gall is produced by a tree as a result of infestation of the gall wasp. The wasp lays eggs into a branch and the tree reacts by creating a burl like formation around the wound. They are very similar to burls in grain but a lot smaller and often have a hollow with egg cells. They are on the branches rather then the main trunk of the tree. These one were some of the biggest I've seen, the largest being ~100mm, and nearly all solid. Once the eggs hatch often ants or spiders move in to any hollows so I always spray with a surface spray before you put them in the car and then chuck them in the microwave before cutting up and/or casting.

Here are the Wild Cherry Galls on the tree

galls.jpg

Around SEQ Luke they are often on Black Wattles, Macadamia and Ash trees.

Here are some Black Wattle galls where you can clearly see the egg cells

small gall pen1.jpg small gall.jpg


And here are some Red Ash galls I found that were dye stabilised

flouro orange gall1.jpg red ash galls.jpg

Ok all cast in blocks then sliced into pen blanks. I did a block in Blue, one in Blood red, and a Pink Duo one for Cliff . I put them all in my stabilizing chamber to stabilize with Cactus Juice, along with some cast Mulberry burl and Bottlebrush flower stems, plus some previously cast pendant blanks. All up 36 pen blanks and 7 pendant blanks. Kept the vacuum going for 3 hours and now in the oven cooking.

pen blanks in vac.jpg

Here they are cast/stabilized/sanded back then given a quick coat of NCL to show colours and grain

cast blanks1.jpg


And here's the others I did with the left over resins

cast blanks2.jpg

They are extra special Neil!!!

They look magnificent all cast up. Why did they need to be stabilised? I would have thought looking at them they were quite solid to start with, but obviously not.
You say you gave them a quick coat of NCL, do you just mix up a small amount or is there other ways of doing it?

They look great Neil.



Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Originally Posted by Treecycle

They look magnificent all cast up. Why did they need to be stabilised? I would have thought looking at them they were quite solid to start with, but obviously not.

I stabilize because they have rotten bits and bark in them.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

You say you gave them a quick coat of NCL, do you just mix up a small amount or is there other ways of doing it?

I have my spray gun full of NCL. You can keep it in the can for a few months this time of year up here (just cover the air vent on the can so it doesn't evaporate) before you need to clean the equipment. I also have smaller quantities in smaller bottles that suit the miniature spray equipment.