how would you turn a burl

Frank Fusco

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Mountain Home, Arkansas
A friend showed my a nice walnut burl that he wants to try turning. The bottom is pretty attractive as it is and he doesn't want to mess it up with screw holes. And I agree. But, there is now the problem of how to hold it while turning the inside. :huh: This hunk is about 14" in diameter. All I can think of is a vacuum chuck but not everyone has one of those. What say the gallery?
 
Frank....Your friend could try using a glue block.... and depending on what he wants to turn....the screw holes for a faceplate could be in the area that is going to be removed and wasted anyway.
 
Frank....Your friend could try using a glue block.... and depending on what he wants to turn....the screw holes for a faceplate could be in the area that is going to be removed and wasted anyway.

We want to leave the bottom natural. I could flatten and use the hot glue with aluminum faceplate thing but that would change the shape and appearance of the bottom.
 
Try turning a glue block that has the basic shape of the bottom and then glue it up.....?

Turn the rest between centers as much as possible before moving the tailstock.....?

I don't know.....I'm just throwing out ideas.....trying to help......
 
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Frank, I turned one from an Australian burl that I think might be what you're talking about. I mounted this first on the top of the burl with a face plate. I then turned a hole/mortisse/whatevery you call it in the bottom deep enough to hold a round rosewood piece which became the tenon. After it was glued into the bottom it stuck out of the bottom about 3/4" and it had a tenon on it to hold it in my scroll chuck. I then held it in the chuck to turn the top/bowl of the burl and then parted off most of the rosewood tenon leaving just enough for a base that it sit's on.

I'm not much at instructions but maybe the picture will help to see what I mean.
 

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Put it between centers and turn a tenon or cut a relief for a chuck. Ya gotta hold the bottom with something in order to turn the inside.
 
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