Big leaf

Mike1950

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We were on the road again until late last night. Trailer full of big leaf maple burl. Had to split, it was too wide to fit in 6' trailer. Headed to mill Sunday.

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Karl_TN

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I see there’s still gold to be found in those hills. Good gosh that’s one mighty nice load that most of us Easterners can only dream about. I’ve never seen a burl tree anywhere like the one you posted in these parts.
 

Mike1950

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I see there’s still gold to be found in those hills. Good gosh that’s one mighty nice load that most of us Easterners can only dream about. I’ve never seen a burl tree anywhere like the one you posted in these parts.
There is a lot of maple burl. Probably better than half goes to chipper and 25% rots in woods
 

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I thought overseas buyers were buying up all they could get there hands on. Did COVID-19 stop this?
absolutely not. I have thought about my wild guess. guess adjustment. 60% rots. 25% chipper and 15% harvested.
Last year probably most of it burnt. this year probably the same.
Biggest burls are in ground. Half exposed-or less. If you have a 30" maple in your yard with a 5' root burl and determine tree has to go. you have 2 options. 1. remove tree and cut stump low and leave burl. thus maybe recovering 20-40% of burl. To do this option you need a tree cutter that cooperates with wood buyer. and a buyer that is prompt. Most homeowners just want tree and cutters gone. probably less than 30 % of these get salvaged. Or stump gets removed by equipment. you get full burl- very low %.
2. the whole tree gets turned into firewood. stump/burl gets stump grinder treatment :scare3:and buried. Most get this.
in the woods- loggers are there to get Fir and cedar the big leaf are just pesky problem trees. most get burnt. or left.
3. cutting and selling burl is like any other biz- Hard work and 95% fail. Why? most do not have all the pieces. May have the access to burl- the hardwork but not self motivated- or personality of a rabid pit bull or way too many spendy bad habits or......... and in the end once the thrill and glitter of starting and building biz wears off even if you are very successful you have to transform into a business person of which definition is a worker with long hours and huge responsibility. I have found this definition applies to almost no one cutting burls in woods... Thus most of the resource rots one way or another. My picture of load- those are 500-1000+lb pieces. they came from a 10,000 plus lb log.
 

Mike1950

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I thought overseas buyers were buying up all they could get there hands on. Did COVID-19 stop this?
and most buyers here and overseas do not want whole burl. Too much waste and guessing. hard to ship giant balls. you are only guessing until cut open. wet wood packed into container and shipped to Korea in summer would look like a science experiment gone bad by the time it gets there. so it has to be harvested- cut dried graded packed and shipped. process means up to 75% waste 25% end product for figured wood and much smaller end %% for super figured wood. There is a reason for 5AAAAA quilted Booked 21x7.5x.25 selling for 2-$300 retail.
 

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One of those "if it were easy everyone would do it" things, huh?
like many things- looks like glorious occupation until you do it for a couple years. I have mentored quite a few young men. Kathie calls it my calling. A young man that we gave a place to stay when he was 18 whom now is in mid 40's asked me what I thought of him buying a dump truck and backhoe and going into Biz. I told him it is a good time to do that and all the plus and minus but last question -Dave, do you have a passion for that kind of work? Cause if you do not the money will not be enough to make you successful. a few days later he was best man at sons wedding. He got me aside and thanked me. He had thought of what I said and talked over with his wife. He did not have passion for it. IMO most important piece is the passion- it powers you through the obstacles...
 

Karl_TN

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like many things- looks like glorious occupation until you do it for a couple years. I have mentored quite a few young men. Kathie calls it my calling. A young man that we gave a place to stay when he was 18 whom now is in mid 40's asked me what I thought of him buying a dump truck and backhoe and going into Biz. I told him it is a good time to do that and all the plus and minus but last question -Dave, do you have a passion for that kind of work? Cause if you do not the money will not be enough to make you successful. a few days later he was best man at sons wedding. He got me aside and thanked me. He had thought of what I said and talked over with his wife. He did not have passion for it. IMO most important piece is the passion- it powers you through the obstacles...
That’s some great advice, but passion doesn’t always pay the bills either. A good reason to have some knowledgeable friends like Mike to give you a reality check.

Still what horror thinking about all the beautiful burl going to waste for lack someone with the right passion and equipment In the area. Feels like I’m reading a horror story reading these posts.
 

Mike1950

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That’s some great advice, but passion doesn’t always pay the bills either. A good reason to have some knowledgeable friends like Mike to give you a reality check.

Still what horror thinking about all the beautiful burl going to waste for lack someone with the right passion and equipment In the area. Feels like I’m reading a horror story reading these posts.
Big leaf is the cheapest burl out there. Why? Extremely abundant. Big leaf is a weed. Grows in rain gutters, cracks in cement, everywhere and anywhere on coast. Long growing season fertile soil and lots of rain. No worries. Supply and demand. If supply goes does or demand goes up, price goes up and more will be salvaged. Just plain economics.
 

Mike1950

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Headed to mill sunday. Pressure Washed and added a buckeye. Not in picture. Washing in 85 degree weather is much better than 40. 20210716_104128.jpg
 
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