Sourcing Wood for Turning

March 1st 2022

Cutting up a root burl.

The above tree has been uprooted from high winds; it was located high up on a ridge on Galiano Island BC. The wood we salvage has to be cut up in manageable chunks to provide the most yield when turning. This is often difficult as the tree is laying down on a rocky slope, there is no machinery to maneuver the wood for us, it’s all done by hand. Arbutus wood is very heavy and sinks in water so that gives you a bit of an idea what a good chunk weighs. We often have to roll the pieces to where they can be rolled down the embankment and gathered up on flatter ground, then use a dolly cart to move them to a vehicle. Another challenge while harvesting Arbutus Burl are the stones and rocks embedded in the wood as the tree grows around them in the soil. Arbutus trees prefer southern exposure on rocky outcrops thus we can easily go through 10 or more chain saw chains in one day of harvesting. 

The main trunk has broken off from high winds, this tree is growing out of the rocky ridge, a future source of some Arbutus burl and will definitely require a lot of saw chains.

If you look close there are two large stones embedded in this tree one on the back vertical side and one on the flat cut, all you can do is cut as much wood away as possible and hope to break it apart using a sledge and wedges.