# Possible Willow Burl?



## Palaswood (Aug 19, 2016)

I grabbed this at a local park a couple years ago after it was left by landscapers. I was on my bicycle at the time, so I balanced it on the handlebars for about 3 miles until i got it home lol.

The normal wood is not super hard which has me leaning towards willow. That and the coloration. It hardens a bit with sanding. No noticeable smell. I wish I had seen the tree it came from but it was a rogue hunk just out in the grass. The rest of the tree had already been removed.

This was sanded and lightly wiped with Danish oil to see the grain patterns better.

Anybody out there have some actual willow burl for to compare? Gracias

Reactions: Like 2 | Way Cool 1


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## Palaswood (Aug 20, 2016)

Nobody?


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## gman2431 (Aug 20, 2016)

I have some but can't dig out today for comparison for you. 

Search it on here... There has been a lot of it sold by @Treecycle Hardwoods and it might help you compare.


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## Palaswood (Aug 20, 2016)

gman2431 said:


> I have some but can't dig out today for comparison for you.
> 
> Search it on here... There has been a lot of it sold by @Treecycle Hardwoods and it might help you compare.


thanks man!


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Aug 20, 2016)

looking at your pix I would say it is not willow burl. the bark is not right and willow generally does not produce small eyes when it burls. The eyes on the stuff I had were the size of quarters or bigger and they were more blistery than defined eyes.


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## Don Ratcliff (Aug 20, 2016)

I'll tell ya what, send it to me and I'll figure it out for you... trust me because...... I got nothing.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## norman vandyke (Aug 20, 2016)

Looks like it to me, colorwise. I have a couple very small pieces stashed away somewhere. I'll dig them up and post pictures in a bit.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## norman vandyke (Aug 20, 2016)

Here's some of what I have. Pictures came out little darker than actual. Longest piece is only about 4".

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## norman vandyke (Aug 20, 2016)

Oh, I also posted this http://woodbarter.com/threads/how-do-i-cut-these-burls-to-get-the-best-outcome.21070/#post-264974 last year when I found that burl.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Palaswood (Aug 22, 2016)

norman vandyke said:


> Oh, I also posted this http://woodbarter.com/threads/how-do-i-cut-these-burls-to-get-the-best-outcome.21070/#post-264974 last year when I found that burl.


Nice samples! Thanks for posting that. How hard is it? what wood is it comparable to in hardness?


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## Mike1950 (Aug 22, 2016)

Willow is Very - Very light. I have some boards and a 12"x 1" x 10' board is feather light. Considerably lighter in color then your last pics. Fingernail- test. You can push it in a ways. Think close to balsa wood


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## norman vandyke (Aug 22, 2016)

Palaswood said:


> Nice samples! Thanks for posting that. How hard is it? what wood is it comparable to in hardness?


It is petty soft. Comparable to cottonwood. The burl is a little harder.


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## Palaswood (Aug 22, 2016)

norman vandyke said:


> It is petty soft. Comparable to cottonwood. The burl is a little harder.


That's exactly what I'm seeing in this hunk I have. I think I'm going to slice it up. What would you suggest? There is a lot of useable wood here and so far I can't see any insect damage, just some spalting, but not much if any punkiness.


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## Palaswood (Aug 22, 2016)

Mike1950 said:


> Willow is Very - Very light. I have some boards and a 12"x 1" x 10' board is feather light. Considerably lighter in color then your last pics. Fingernail- test. You can push it in a ways. Think close to balsa wood


Note: I did sand and apply Danish oil to bring the figure out. So its' not the bare wood. Wood is purplish brown before the oil. In the sunlight the pics come out much more yellowish than it really looks.


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## Palaswood (Aug 22, 2016)

What else could it possibly be if not willow? I'm gonna check hobbit house for end grain pics


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## Mike1950 (Aug 22, 2016)

My willow is more tan then anything else. What could it be- My guess is with "There are about 750 types of trees in North America and about *100,000* in the world. Many of those are endangered. Those numbers count both conifer (cone bearing) trees and deciduous trees. You can find the names of many conifers on this site ... just click Tree Types in the Elementary sectio" is there could be quite a few possibilities.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Palaswood (Aug 22, 2016)

Mike1950 said:


> My willow is more tan then anything else. What could it be- My guess is with "There are about 750 types of trees in North America and about *100,000* in the world. Many of those are endangered. Those numbers count both conifer (cone bearing) trees and deciduous trees. You can find the names of many conifers on this site ... just click Tree Types in the Elementary sectio" is there could be quite a few possibilities.


Thanks for narrowing it down ... :)

Reactions: Funny 1


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## norman vandyke (Aug 22, 2016)

The burl I found was a orange copper color.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Palaswood (Aug 22, 2016)

norman vandyke said:


> The burl I found was a orange copper color.


Yes, that's right. I remember now finding some willow - took it from the tree (willow is hard to confuse when you can see the actual tree with leaves). The color is similar, this has a bit of a purplish tint, but very similar to the willow color of the branch I found. More research to do I guess.


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## norman vandyke (Aug 22, 2016)

Palaswood said:


> Yes, that's right. I remember now finding some willow - took it from the tree (willow is hard to confuse when you can see the actual tree with leaves). The color is similar, this has a bit of a purplish tint, but very similar to the willow color of the branch I found. More research to do I guess.


The smell of willow is also unmistakable. Get a piece of wood you know is willow, sand it and compare the scent.


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