Thread: The Jarrah Burl Went everywhere

What a pity.

Sticking the burl to a backer may have helped. However, the best way I know of to clean the thin burl of saw marks is to pass it through a drum sander.

Dave, I know from personal experience, Burls and Thickys Do Not play nice together.

Drum sanders, Hand sanders or hand sand. You have to be careful not to generate too much heat or you'll explode the burl. So light passes with the Drum or hand held sanders.

PS, if turning, Do Not crank the speed to 3 thou rpm, without full face protection, trust me, I have the scars

I've used my Dremel router with a sled to thickness small burls, with double-sided tape holding the burl down. Have to be careful when lifting it back off, though, and do it slowly. A full-sized router w/ sled would probably work as well on larger ones.

I have never thought of using the Dremel before, I bought my wife one for her craft work and it seems to stay in the box, i might have to move it to the shed.

Originally Posted by sobfu

I have never thought of using the Dremel before, I bought my wife one for her craft work and it seems to stay in the box, i might have to move it to the shed.

It's a bit slow since the biggest straight router bit is only 1/4" diameter, but it works well. I get an even thickness to within about 0.1mm. All sliding surfaces are waxed to slide well.
I work right to left. The 2" clamp at the front is moved about 1/8" left after each pass and stops the sled from straying forwards. I usually only take 1mm or less off the thickness at a time, too, and do multiple passes across the whole piece.
As mentioned, the workpiece is held down with double-sided tape, which is rolled carefull off afterwards.
Just a piece of Calantis Pine in it right now, not a burl.
(This is my thicknesser for everything at the moment.): -
Attachment 221227

Attachment 221228

The Dremel router is unlikely to shatter the burl, but getting it to release from the tape could break it if you're not careful. I put upwards pressure on the workpiece, then hold the pressure for a bit and the glue will start to release. A wide scraper can help. The key is to not pull it up too quickly. Then roll the remaining glue off.
I think that probably repairing any visible voids or cracks with epoxy or CA respectively before thicknessing will help, too.

Edit: If you don't already have a plunge router attachment for your Dremel, they're only about $50 and well worth it.

Forgot to mention, too, if any glue is stubborn, it can be removed from the surface with white spirits.