yet another burl drying question

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aweiss44

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Apr 8, 2009
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125
Location
East Hampton, NY
long story short, i was offered today a bunch of cherry burls. they are in a huge pile of firewood someone has, and I am "more than welcome" to take whatever I want. problem is he wants it done ASAP cuz he wants to get this wood cut ASAP(as in the next day or 2). the cherry wood in question is about 18-24" in diameter, and about 24" long chunks. most of these burls are actually cut right at the bottom of them.
without having any anchorseal on hand, I am thinking of trying one pioece with the soaking in alcohol method, and sealing the rest of them and letting htem dry in the basement(or should I go attic?). My question is, since I don't have anchorseal, would regular lated paint be ok? I don't really have anyone nearby that carries anchorseal or similar products, and I want to get this wood out of there quickly. I figured cut ~2-3" deep around the burl and then cut it out of the log, and just paint all the woody sides, leaving the bark as is.
i appreciate any advice, and sorry for another question on this topic, but I think i only saw mention of latex paint once in my searches on burls here.
 
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It may take a couple of coats, but it will help. I'm not sure soaking an entire burl in DNA would be all that helpful. You could also throw them into a sealed plastic bag for a while until you get some anchor seal. If you want, you could add a wet washcloth to keep the moisture content of the air in the bag up. If you bag them, I see no reason not to paint them first.
 
I don't like leaving the bark on. It's a real invitation for bugs, powder post beetles especially. If the bark is off, you can use the trimmings for worthless wood blanks. Are you going to turn the entire burl? If not, I would cut them down to smaller blanks. Whole burls are very difficult to dry without heavy checking. Turn as much of it as you can when it's green. You'll get the best yield in the first couple of weeks. I'm turning cherry like crazy right now as it just plain dries too quickly this time of year. Really interested in preserving them? Buy a chest freezer and freeze them till you use them.
 
bark is still on them. i have no plans of using them for anything but pen blanks.

unfortunatly, my girlfriends best friends 2 year old son broke his leg last night. so i had to take off today to watch their kids, and they're staying here tonight again. praying i can get out of here for an hour or so.

the other thing i forgot to mention was this wood has been sitting outside since january, which is when we presume it was cut. all of the burls have atleast some part of them exposed.
 
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