What is the fascination with Madrone Burl ?

I had to google and found this on a site selling it:

Madrone Burl is considered one of the most reactive and volatile woods in the United States. It has a very high Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and is generally prone to morphing, warping, wormholes, and honeycombing as it is processed. (Many woodturners will rough turn a piece of Madrone Burl and then place it in an air-tight bag to help prevent any undesired movement of the wood as it continues to dry.)Because of its potentially problematic elasticity, Most of our Madrone Burl has been specially dried through a boiling process in which the pieces are kept immersed in large vats of boiling water for 4 to 12 hours (the amount of time depends on the size of a particular piece). Boiling reduces the wood's moisture content to about 12 to 15 percent, and, as a fringe benefit, happens to produce an array of colors that would not otherwise be associated with Madrone Burl. Boiling may also cause or increase honeycombed cracking. Any cracks(or found wormholes) can be filled in with CA glue and saw dust or a decorative inlay, such as turquoise or brass filings. Any cracking & wormholes can also just be left alone, particularly if it adds character to a piece.

Difficulty to produce and relative rarity? I'd call it the "Caviar affect." If Caviar wasn't relatively rare and very expensive would anyone eat it? I sure don't although do have friends who love it. Now the first boats to use Madrone Burl were probably exciting to see, something new for a boat, unique. Then quickly overdone. It's a matter of taste and when you try to account for taste, Karo, you're already pursuing an impossible task.

I just looked on line and found a "Madrone Burl 4'X8' Veneer Sheet, 3M PSA Backed $829.99 ". Reminds me of an old George Carlin joke: 'If you put two pieces of wood together in a way others haven't done it, some fool will buy it'. Definitely the "Caviar affect".

I like wood. Cutting through a piece of cedar is a treat to the senses, but this stuff doesn't do anything for me.

It looks decayed or diseased to me. I mean if someone likes it, fine. But a little bit of that goes a long way for me.

As a woodworker I can speak to this. It's gorgeous. It's difficult to work with, it's difficult to find, but it's got some gorgeous figuring and color and chatoyance.

That price sounds about right for a piece of veneer that size. It takes a very impressive tree to pull off a piece of veneer that size, they don't get too many, and it's difficult to do. With that veneer you can get the effect of the wood in situations where the dimensional wood could never be employed.

Its a wood that adds drama, that isn't something everyone wants, but it's certainly something that many people want.

Madrone isn't endangered, and it isn't particularly exotic, and far off habitats aren't being destroyed to grow it, the burl is just the most interesting form it comes in, and like most fine things its use boils to the top. Think less caviar, and more prime rib.

Edit: on the subject of decay, woodworkers will actually decay wood on purpose. Wormwood with holed from invertebrates eating it is common, and at the higher end spalting is used to add color and figure to otherwise plane woods like birch through the process of fungal decay.

When building the interior for my sailboat, the famous German megayacht interior builder told me, the most difficult veneer he ever worked with (they make their own veneer), was eucalyptus veneer. He was joking, only one material in the world would be more dfifficult to make veneer of, a block of peat !

It is amazing what kind of materials are choosen for megayacht interiors today. I remember being on a yacht, where the floor (!!) of the dinning room was covered with black leather tiles from spanish Murciélago bulls. Exclusivity at any costs. Those famous bar stools on the old Onassis yacht Christina also come into my mind.


And I do mean the seat material below the protective cover .

I personally prefer teak, blond, silky matt (inside) and natural or partly high gloss (outside) and sometimes classic mahaghoni for my boats and walnut burl wood, high gloss for parts of the interior of my car. And of course some nice Italian natural leather (poltrona frau), on the seats and couches, not on the floor .

But that concludes my hunger for exotic woods or fabrics. It is far more interesting for me, what is under the veneer. A honeycomb structure made of Nomex core for weight savings or even a complete "floating" interior for cancellation of noise and vibrations for example. A modern hightech LED interior lighting system can add far more appeal to an interior than the craziest veneer or opulent art deco.

Just my 2 (Euro) cents