# Is this Burl Yellow Cedar???



## Burly Man (Apr 24, 2018)

Hi All, 

I found this burl a bit over a year ago in Cambria CA on the beach and still haven't figured out exactly what it is. At first I thought cypress, but never felt that was quite right... now my best guess after looking at pictures online is Yellow Cedar. What do you all think? I was born and raised on the East Coast so my eye is trained for identifying a different set of trees:) 

Thanks,

Joel



 
Joel

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 7


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Apr 24, 2018)

Hey Joel, it's hard to tell from the pics. Just box it up and send to me for proper disposal!

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Apr 24, 2018)

I'll even pay the shipping


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## Burly Man (Apr 24, 2018)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> Hey Joel, it's hard to tell from the pics. Just box it up and send to me for proper disposal!


Eric, I wish I could but I got so frustrated when I couldn't figure out what it was that I burned it all in my fireplace:)

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 10


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## barry richardson (Apr 24, 2018)

No clue but it sure is Pretty, did it have a cedar smell when you cut it?

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## bamafatboy (Apr 24, 2018)

I would also need to hold it in my hands to determine the nature of this wood.


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## ClintW (Apr 24, 2018)

Who cares what it is, it is NICE! Sure wish I could find garbage like that on the beach. 
I would guess if you can get a close up of the grain in the straighter grain region like on the left of the second to last photo, our expert wood analyzers could give a good guess.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Apr 24, 2018)

It is nice. It would make a pretty pot call. Or pen, or bowl, or.....anything.


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## Mike1950 (Apr 24, 2018)

I wood guess buckeye. Is it very lightweight, once dry

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Lou Currier (Apr 24, 2018)

It looks like found on the beach Burl to me ...come to think of it, it looks a lot like the Burl I lost on the beach a little over a year ago

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 2


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## Mr. Peet (Apr 24, 2018)

Lou Currier said:


> It looks like found on the beach Burl to me ...come to think of it, it looks a lot like the Burl I lost on the beach a little over a year ago



Gee Lou, think it could have made it all the way around South America in that time? Not even if it went via the canal since it was found just over a year ago. But if you lost a burl, and your luck is like mine, it would have looked just like the one Joel posted...

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Burly Man (Apr 24, 2018)

barry richardson said:


> No clue but it sure is Pretty, did it have a cedar smell when you cut it?


Good point... I didn't even notice when I was cutting it because I had a respirator on. These days I have to where a respirator most of the time I'm working in the shop even bench work. Too many years working without one has caused an auto immune problem due to the dust.


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## Burly Man (Apr 24, 2018)

ClintW said:


> Who cares what it is, it is NICE! Sure wish I could find garbage like that on the beach.
> I would guess if you can get a close up of the grain in the straighter grain region like on the left of the second to last photo, our expert wood analyzers could give a good guess.





Mike1950 said:


> I wood guess buckeye. Is it very lightweight, once dry



Hi Mike, I thought buckeye at first, but theirs no gray and the yellow is so brilliant it threw me off from thinking buckeye. Its a medium density now... although it was the heaviest burl ever when I had to carry and roll it straight up a 30 foot cliff to get it off the beach:)

Reactions: Like 1


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## Lou Currier (Apr 25, 2018)

Burly Man said:


> Hi Mike, I thought buckeye at first, but theirs no gray and the yellow is so brilliant it threw me off from thinking buckeye. Its a medium density now... although it was the heaviest burl ever when I had to carry and roll it straight up a 30 foot cliff to get it off the beach:)



Sounds like it was waterlogged...if it was “driftwood” for a lack of a better term, the sea water could have affected the color and density. I also thought that it has buckeye characteristics.


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## Mike1950 (Apr 25, 2018)

Burly Man said:


> Hi Mike, I thought buckeye at first, but theirs no gray and the yellow is so brilliant it threw me off from thinking buckeye. Its a medium density now... although it was the heaviest burl ever when I had to carry and roll it straight up a 30 foot cliff to get it off the beach:)



Never had any yellow cedar burl- but the few eyes you show do not look right. I agree with Lou- floating around in the ocean could/would change color. coul be maple. If it is buckeye though and dry it would be Very lightweight. Burl ID is difficult- float it around in the ocean for a couple yrs- try impossible. If that is bark left on burl- definitely not cedar- google yellow cedar bark. You said medium weight- that the eyes-rays - the bark- the rot- My second guess Big leaf Maple.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Sprung (Apr 25, 2018)

I agree with the above. Buckeye is my first thought. Bigleaf Maple another possibility.

As Mike said, spending time in the water can very much change the appearance of a wood. I have some Cuban Mahogany that looks like no other Cuban Mahogany I've ever seen pictures of - it spent time in the water. I just received in some Spalted Bigleaf Maple Burl to stabilize for someone. The two pieces were cut from a burl that had spent time in the ocean. It has a very different look from other Spalted Bigleaf Maple Burl I've worked with.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Burly Man (Apr 25, 2018)

I submit evidence example "A" for consideration (found on a burl sellers website):


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## Burly Man (Apr 25, 2018)

here's a shot before I sanded it... similar lighting to pic above:


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## Burly Man (Apr 25, 2018)

Sprung said:


> I agree with the above. Buckeye is my first thought. Bigleaf Maple another possibility.
> 
> As Mike said, spending time in the water can very much change the appearance of a wood. I have some Cuban Mahogany that looks like no other Cuban Mahogany I've ever seen pictures of - it spent time in the water. I just received in some Spalted Bigleaf Maple Burl to stabilize for someone. The two pieces were cut from a burl that had spent time in the ocean. It has a very different look from other Spalted Bigleaf Maple Burl I've worked with.



Ya, I don't think it's maple... it's not as heavy as maple. Also, I should mention that I found it by a river mouth... so it didn't necessarily spend a ton of time in the water.


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## Burly Man (Apr 25, 2018)

oh, well. maybe it's better not knowing! :) Mystery wood can be just as fun:)


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## Mike1950 (Apr 25, 2018)

Back to buckeye. Not much yellow cedar done there

Reactions: Agree 1


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## gman2431 (Apr 25, 2018)

I've got a bunch of yellow cedar burl and it doesnt resemble this at all


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## gman2431 (Apr 25, 2018)

And please dont take this the wrong way but the pics you have of the wood dont even look like the pic of YCB you showed for reference.


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## Tclem (Apr 25, 2018)

Didn’t know they had any ycb in California unless tom lost some

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Tclem (Apr 25, 2018)

gman2431 said:


> I've got a bunch of yellow cedar burl and it doesnt resemble this at all


Just how much is a bunch ? I don’t have any and never had any

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Tclem (Apr 25, 2018)

Ycb. But it’s not mine. Ummmm I found this picture on the Internet

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Burly Man (Apr 25, 2018)

gman2431 said:


> And please dont take this the wrong way but the pics you have of the wood dont even look like the pic of YCB you showed for reference.



No Worries Cody... if I knew what it was for sure I wouldn't have asked for help. There is a fanning on the edges of the picture you are referencing that is the same fanning on the edges of my burl. That's the similarity in the two photos, that and the color... my burl was the same color when I cut and joined it. I misted the wood in a lot of the photos and it brings out the yellow, while the reference picture is of course dry.


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## chanser123 (May 14, 2018)

Have worked with and cut a lot of yellow cedar. It doesn't look like yellow cedar at all. Looks an awful lot like buckeye in the picture showing the outside but not the cut ones (that could be because it was in water a long time). Would say that it def isn't yellow cedar tho

Reactions: Like 1


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## Burly Man (May 16, 2018)

chanser123 said:


> Have worked with and cut a lot of yellow cedar. It doesn't look like yellow cedar at all. Looks an awful lot like buckeye in the picture showing the outside but not the cut ones (that could be because it was in water a long time). Would say that it def isn't yellow cedar tho


Thanks for the info Chanse... your not the first in the thread to think Buckeye, so I guess that's the consensus right now... works for me, I've always wanted to try working with Buckeye.

Reactions: Like 1


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