Enormous Birch Burl Turned
I have been saving several large birch burls for turning on my new Stubby S1000 lathe. Today I turned the largest so far. The burl measured 30 inches in length, 20 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. I trimmed it to a piece of about 28 x 18 x 8" and attached it to my lathe using a 6" face plate with the help of my shop crane. The following images show the turning process. The final bowl measures 28 x 17 x 5.5" and already has nice chatoyance. The burl was turned green and will need some months to dry before finishing (re-turning the bottom, sanding, oiling, waxing). The Stubby lathe performed great with its flexible tool rest positioning options using the movable auxiliary bed, and of course the sliding main bed that permitted this 30" diameter burl to be turned. I also used Robust tool rests which are shown in some of the images. The Stubby lathe did not vibrate at all while spinning this heavy, unsymmetrical burl, and the 3 HP motor never strained or slowed down during heavy turning.
Addition on May 26, 2020, when this bowl was finished (sanded, oiled, waxed). The bowl warped a lot during drying. This gave it a very interesting appearance. The bowl was sanded to 600 grit, sealed with tung oil, and finished with beeswax in walnut oil (dried/buffed). The following images show the completed bowl. The chatoyance is beautiful. This effect showed in the fresh turned bowl but really popped out when sanded and oiled. This is a very beautiful large birch burl bowl. The final dimensions are 27" long, 17" wide, 3.5-4" deep, and ⅜" wall thickness.
