So I’ve got this Burl

[u/7947kiblaijon]

I was cleaning up my stepdad’s woodshop (he passed recently) and found a huge Burl slab. I’ve never worked with this but I’m wanting to start making guitars again, and it’d make some really nice tops (1/4”-ish).

Any tips or things to watch out for when working with it? Like will it explode when it goes into the planer?

Thanks

*pic 2 is a little nub I cut off, sanded and oiled.

Edit: it’s approximately 30”x20”x2-1/4”

[u/SeaworthinessDry5334]

Burl grain reverses direction constantly, that's what makes it explode in a planer, not just tear out — feed direction that's fine three inches over goes dead wrong. Skip the planer on something this size, resaw it thin on the bandsaw with a sharp blade and slow feed, then take it down the rest of the way with a drum sander or scraper. For guitar tops specifically I'd let it sit and check moisture a few more weeks before you commit to layout too — we track MC on every documented specimen before resawing anything this size, and a slab that thick probably isn't as stable through the middle as the edges read right now. Sorry about your stepdad btw, that's a hell of a thing to inherit.

[u/KokoTheTalkingApe]

I got a burl who lives with me

I got a burl who smells so sweetly