some new woods

[hayshaker]

well new for me at least cottonwood burl and spalted birch.
i'm trying to find both. a friend had told me about the cottonwood burl.
said it looked very nice. cottonwoods are very common around here.
so i'm on the prowl once again. has anyone used these woods before or what?

[wolfy]

I built a very sturdy gun case for my Remington rolling block 'buffler' rifle out of cottonwood.  It's a close-grained, light-colored wood that is very difficult to split (a good thing in this application) with almost zero visible grain-structure, but it finishes very nicely.   Once dried & stable, it becomes very difficult to pound a nail through and it's almost impossible to pull one out.  If it's kept out of the weather it will last forever, but if exposed to the elements it will warp and rot.  Tough stuff in the right place and it's also the State Tree of NEBRASKA!

[hayshaker]

since i've been harvesting my own burl these days
i'm finding some very nice pieces to work with.
some wood i've found looks very similar to buckeye burl.