Questions about working with burl

[shaintiques]

Hey Guys I am starting a pipe project. This will be my first attempt at carving briar. I want to leave some of the natural burl on the top of the bowl, how do I go about doing that. Do I use a wire brush to scrape off the bark on the outside or what? I've tried to find some videos but haven't found any. Any help from the pipe artists on here would be helpful, thanks. Here are some pics of my block.

 

[briarbird]

Hey Shaintiques, any time that I keep the plateau on top, I usually just use a file to lightly take off the bark material. Nothing fancy about it, but it works. Good luck with your project, I am excited to see the final product! Are you making the stem as well?

J

 

[shaintiques]

Ok thanks that is helpful, this is actually a nording pipe kit and it came with a stem. I will def post pics when it is done.

 

[romeowood]

Check out the pipemaker's forum--your first and last stop for every question you could have.

 

[briarbird]

+1 Romeowood

 

[acme]

The most efficient method to remove the bark from plateau is sand blasting. It is efficient, does not leave scratches, and it leaves all of the original definition because it mostly removes wood in a uniform manner.
What I don't like about the method is that it is messy, requires that I dig out my sand blasting equipment, and it is cold outside in the winter.
It also, ALMOST CERTAINLY, means that I have to stain the plateau. I prefer not to.
The method I use most is a very small wire wheel. The wire wheel is about an inch in diameter and I run it at 7 or 8 hundred RPM. The small size permits me to get down into small crooks and crannies without tearing up adjoining prominances, and the slow speed means that things aren't happening faster than I can react.
anthony

 

[shaintiques]

Ok I was wondering about a wire wheel. It makes sense. I dont have a sandblaster yet.

 

[shaintiques]

Started shaping, here are some pics.

 

[ejames]

The few times I have done that I also used a wire wheel. Mine are brass wire and I use them in my dremel. On the stubborn pieces of bark that the brush didn't want to remove I used the point of an Exacto knife to slip under the edge and flip them up.

 

[shaintiques]

Ive been doing both the wire wheel dremmel method and picking.

 

[ocpsdan]

Try a hard buff with steel wool, and finish with a very fine sandpaper.