Burl, Exotic Wood with Special Grain and Knots

Burl, burr, or burwood is obtained from trees that had abnormalities in infancy. Burl could be the result of stress on the trees, infection from the insects, virus, or fungal attack. Burl wood appears as a bunch of bulges and knots at the tree trunk or branch. But after the wood is cut, then the burl is utilized as a special wood part and has high value because of its unique appearance. By the artists, burl is used to make the wooden sculptures with special form. By the carpenter, artist, or furniture maker, the burl is utilized to make some special furniture. 

burl wood table

In the woodworking industry, most of the burl wood is slashed and cut to make veneer. Burl veneer from good-quality wood, such as oak, walnut, maple, etc., is marketed at a high price but is still much more inexpensive than the solid wood. With veneer, the beauty and uniqueness of the appearance of burl wood can be obtained at a relatively inexpensive price. The burl veneer is fully with knots with swirls around. As a natural product, the patterns of burl are usually varied and have irregular forms. The burl veneer with the “relative uniform “pattern can be ordered with higher prices. The burl veneer is widespread and found in many wood products, such as furniture, walls, doors, or other wood products.

But as a special veneer, the burl needs to be handled properly. Despite his special look, the veneer has some special properties that make it need to be taken care of in a special way. Here are some important things to be considered when dealing with burl veneer.

• The burl laminated process

The veneer has a lot of knots, so it is structurally fragile and brittle. The veneer also tends to contract or expand with a high coefficient. As a consequence, the burl veneer is easy to get cracks and splitting problems. To minimize the veneer problem, then we need to soften the veneer before the gluing process. Apply the veneer softener to the veneer before we laminated the veneer. The gluing can be done with the hot press or cold press, but make sure that the proper glue is used.

• Glue sizing.

Burl is naturally brittle and rupture. It may not be as brittle as the crotch, but it still has a high risk of crack problems. To minimize the crack problem, then the glue sizing process is recommended. We can put a thin layer of glue on the veneer surface after the veneer lamination, before the sanding process. The glue will cover the pores and grain to reduce the water absorption and make the veneer more stable.

• Matching the veneer.

The veneer figure is the main factor in building the special look for the burl. But the fact is the veneer could have variation in the patterns of dots and swirls and the color base. If the variation is quite big, then it could make the product look "strange." To get the maximum beauty, the veneer needs to be properly set and matched. Make sure we match the veneer selection before the laminating process to get the well-looked panel. 

burl veneer to make inlay panel

• Finishing for the burl veneer.

The burl veneer is a premium veneer with a high price. We need the proper finish to get the maximum benefit of this product. The proper finishing works to stabilize the veneer. The coating layer will cover the pores and grain to reduce the porosity of the veneer and lower the risk of veneer cracking and rupture. 

But the finishing should be more concerned with providing the best look of the veneer. The proper finishing process and material are needed to enhance and maximize the veneer beauty. The transparent color is recommended for this veneer. The thin stain that is directly applied to the wood will bring out the beauty of the wood veneer. The glaze application can also be used to enrich the veneer look. We can do highlights for the stain and glaze to enlighten the wood veneer pattern. The too-thick stain should be avoided since it may block the veneer pattern and kill the veneer beauty. The paint finish is not suitable for this veneer.