Wood Milling Cast Offs: Crotches, Burls, and Beyond

When milling wood, it’s common to encounter sections that extend beyond the mill’s width, resulting in the removal of large bulges and limb joints. Often, these cut-offs seem like waste—however, I’ve discovered they can be a treasure trove for bowl-making enthusiasts!

Thanks to one of our wood mill partners, Peter Andrews, I’m excited to share that he has set aside several of these cut-offs for me to experiment with as bowl blanks. In the future, we plan to offer these valuable pieces to participants in our milling classes.

While these cut-offs aren’t strictly burls, they frequently showcase stunning figure and grain patterns, as they originate from the tree’s stress and growth points. This unique character often translates into beautiful and distinctive bowls. For instance, one of the ash cut-offs I worked with yielded a lovely 14” bowl, and I have two more ash and three walnut pieces in the queue for similar projects.

Processing Your Cut-offs

Once I bring these cut-offs home, the first step is to protect their ends. I immediately apply AnchorSeal to slow moisture loss and minimize cracking. From there, I begin the transformation:

1. Initial Shaping: I use a chainsaw to cut these pieces into rough circles. Depending on the size of the original cut-off, I might end up with one large piece or several smaller segments.

2. Further Refinement: For the smaller pieces, I flatten each end and refine them into better circles using a bandsaw.

3. Turning Preparation: For larger cut-offs, I mount them onto the lathe. I set the lathe to a slow speed to carefully mark a circle. After marking, I turn off the lathe and stabilize the mounted wood. Using a power hand planer, I remove some bulk to enhance balance and prepare the piece for turning.

4. Turning the Green Wood: Working with green wood makes the turning process a pleasure! It’s significantly easier and produces less dust than working with fully dried blanks, allowing for a more enjoyable experience overall.

Join Us!

Consider signing up for our milling class, where you’ll not only learn about the transformation of wood into lumber but also have the opportunity to take home a collection of these unique bowl blanks. You’ll leave with valuable skills and beautiful materials—what could be better?

Let’s celebrate the artistry and innovation that comes from utilizing wood milling cut-offs. Happy turning!