"
Working with
Madrone Burl and
Straight Grain!
"
BY GREG DAHL!
Madrone can be a challenging
wood to work with, Madrone burl
even more so. But with a little
knowledge this can be the
funniest wood you will every work
with. It is one of the most tool able
woods there is. So with this little
tutorial I hope to show how to work
with Madrone and have the time of
your life with it.
"
Over the years I have heard
people express their fear of
Madrone. It cracks, it distorts!
Understandable! But what if I can
show you how to succeed with this
wood? How to stabilize it or if it cracks on you
what then? Is all lost? I say a resounding NO!
"
The need to understand Madrone is paramount
and other woods like it. You see Madrone has
incredible internal pressure. It shrinks around
18% when dry. So there is lots of movement
when drying. There is a lot of water in Madrone
and it has to get out. The reason is the bound
water (water inside the cells) is under great
pressure. So the goal is to relieve that pressure
so you can work with it if you like to stay true to
the form you create. The flip side of staying true
to form is using the movement of the wood to
create art also.
"
The objection is the cost of the wood. Then for it
to crack on you can be very disappointing. You
see most of the wood workers I know like to
purchase their wood, wax it and set it on the
shelf for it to dry. This does not work with
Madrone burl. If you set Madrone burl on the
shelf it will crack 100% of the time and straight
grain Madrone may not crack but will distort and
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