Turning burls

[J.P.Rap (Hamilton)]

The other day I turnned my first burl(willow).
It was a pc. of a branch about 10" dia.The full circumferance was burled.I cut a chunck off, threw it on the lathe(bark on) and started turning.What I noticed is I had to cut quite deep before reaching "usable" wood.Can anyone tell me, is this typicle of a burl or is it caracteristic of willow?Perhaps it's because it was a branch.
The thing is ,the branch came from a tree about 4 to 5 ft. dia and its burled from the roots to the top of the main trunk,between 15 and 20 ft. high.
the tree is mine in the spring if I want it .I was just wondering what to expect.
PS...I'm still practicing with the skew. I'm getting pretty good but it seems whenever I get close to the shape I want, I get a catch and the pc. gets smaller. This particular pc. started off about 10" and ended up as a pile of shavings on the floor.LOL
Oh well. It was free and I enjoyed playing .
J.P.

Oh Ya. One more question.
How deep does a typicle burl go into the wood.
That is,
If I cut the trunk into turning blanks,how thick can I cut before I hit the normal grain?
TIA.

[Peter (up north)]

JP, burls are kindof a sideline specialty of mine and they have an inherent learning curve that never quits. They are all different and there are no real firm rules. A word of caution: trying to turn the burl itself can lead to very painful flying debris!!!
Don't tell anyone but you have found what I consider the most highly prized wood anywhere. Those little willow burls polish up like gemstones. What I do is slice solid pieces out of them, let them dry and then laminate them onto any light coloured bowl blanks. That way you are safe, rid of the rot, and expose its beauty on the outside of the bowl. (If you use just willow, it will likely keep twisting and changing shape for many years) ...and yes most willow is rotten in the core.
When I find such a tree I cut off all the little knobs visible on the outside and let them dry a couple years. Anything that even looks rotten, is, and not worth keeping.
Even the most prized myrtlewood burls take a distant second place to willow.
Peter.

[J.P.Rap (Hamilton)]

It's not really what I wanted to hear (use small sections and laminate them)But informative non the less.
Your absolutely right about the grain. That branch I was turning had some of the most incredible grain I've ever seen!At one point I noticed several bumps or waves(difficult to describe) in the piece.I chocked it up to chatter or vibration of the chisle, But when I felt it ,it was silky smooth ,and the waves were the effect of light reflecting off the grain.Quite incredible.
As for the problem of getting a catch, I belive that is more a result of my inexperiance with a skew ,rather than the burl.It happens to me a lot ,with any wood.
But like I said ,I enjoy playing.
It's a little frustrating but my technique is improving...slowly.
J.P.
PS. Could you tell me more about the laminating part. I'm not sure I understand what it is your doing.