What are caps and suveli, how do they differ? How and where are they prepared? How to quickly and efficiently dry the growths at home?

cap

So, to begin with, let's define some concepts.

cap(aka " witch broom") is a benign formation on a tree, which is a bundle of thin twigs growing from a drop-shaped (most often) growth. When cross-sectioned, it has a texture with pronounced knot cores. It is difficult to process due to the strongly curly texture and a huge number of knots. Extremely beautiful , durable, perfectly sanded and polished.

Separate numerous areas have a mother-of-pearl tint. It has no great industrial value, but is valued very dearly because of its beauty. If it is used in industry, it is only in the form of veneer for furniture finishing (mostly exotic wood burl is used), as well as for the production of small items such as caskets, cigarette cases, women's hairpins, and small jewelry (birch burl). The use of a burl on the handles of knives is considered good taste, and is also valued by wood carvers for its unique texture.

It is impossible to find two identical pieces of burl - even halves of a sawn burl have a different pattern, the growth is so heterogeneous. It grows on many trees (linden, alder, birch, maple, oak, etc.), but the most valuable and beautiful is birch (from those growing in our latitudes). The growth is usually small, at most the size of a volleyball or a large plate.

It does not make sense to cut some kind of pattern on the cap, since the texture clogs everything.

The photo shows a birch burl. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a cut of a birch burl (I took these pictures near the local police station, and, as you understand, they wouldn’t give me anything to cut down there ... But I contrived and found an ash burl; most of the burls are similar in texture and differ only in color and size of knot cores).

(swirl) - as the name implies, the growth got its name because of its structure. "twisted structure",

This is putting it mildly. Suvel is a drop-shaped or spherical growth on a tree (there is also an annular variety, it covers the tree trunk around the perimeter), it usually grows 2-3 times faster than the tree itself. When sawn, it has a texture similar in pattern to marble and mother-of-pearl (this is the main sign of difference from mouth guard; in the future, do not confuse suvel and cap). The presence of mother-of-pearl stains on a polished tree creates a beautiful iridescent picture that glows from the inside. The twist is also poorly processed, like the burl, but not as hard. The size varies from the size of a nut up to 1.5 meters in height (I myself saw one on a birch) and up to 2 meters in diameter (an annular suvel completely covered the tree trunk).

In the Vatican, there is a font much more than a meter in diameter, carved from a single piece of suvel. He himself once sat in an armchair carved from suveli. Holds fine thread perfectly, but it is not recommended to cut the suvel. It is better to sand and varnish (impregnate with oil). The product will only benefit from this.

The most valuable is the root or butt streak. The presence of dark veins and well-defined twisted annual rings. This is a fairytale. BEAUTIFUL, that says it all. The barrel suvel is distinguished by a finer texture and a finer "frosty" pattern. And lighter wood. In terms of strength, the butt suvel is slightly superior to the stem one due to the structural features of the tree trunk. Suvel is strong, beautiful, easily polished and polished. Well-dried and processed, it begins to "glow" from the inside (with proper impregnation with oils, the tree becomes like amber and even a little transparent). Usually has a color from pale yellow or pinkish brown to quite ocher brown. It all depends on the conditions and drying time. Cap has the same colors.

As you can see, the suvel does not look like a cap at all.

- this is a mushroom (not to be confused with a tinder fungus) and we do not need it for our purposes.

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Where to look for growths... Naturally in the forest. BUT! There are no specific places of growth, they grow spontaneously, and the most beautiful outgrowths will be found by the most big-eyed and persistent. This activity is akin to hunting for mushrooms - who is more and more about e gal forest, and that got more.

We cut off the growth. We do this with a sharp saw. Otherwise, you will be tormented by sawing, and the tree will begin to shaggy. We do not clean the bark.

I highlight in red:

1. If the growth is "trunk-embracing" or hooded, then it is more correct to refrain from cutting it down - the tree may die. It is advisable to acquire such burls and strands during legal logging, when the tree is doomed anyway.
2. Cutting off growths is desirable in the dry season, ideally in late August, early September, before the start of sap flow.
3. Do not forget to cover the cut on the tree with oil paint or wax, or something similar.

Drying

So how to dry? The method of "steaming". I must say right away that this method is suitable for small pieces of wood: somewhere in the half of a soccer ball or a small log.

1. We take an unnecessary pan (bucket), and throw a piece of wood there. The pot should be taken exactly unnecessary, since during the cooking process a very tricky broth is formed, which is then very troublesome to wash. It is better to clean the piece of wood from all sorts of tatters of birch bark and other fragile and dangling tails - they will fall off anyway.

   I'm considering exactly birch growth, as the most affordable and beautiful. The rest of the growths are cooked using the same technology. The log is accordingly cleaned of any debris and fragile particles. We pour water. It is convenient to do this with a faceted glass (it contains 250 ml). Water should cover the piece of wood by about a centimeter or two. The tree naturally floats up, but let's press it to the bottom and see everything. Pour water, no matter what, cold or hot - it will boil anyway. You can throw a piece of wood into a saucepan no matter how much it is a pity, the volume of a separate piece of wood is important, and not the total volume of wood.

2. We take table salt, which is not a pity. We don't make soup. Pour 2 large tablespoons per liter of water
   with a top of salt. It is possible and more, no matter how much it is a pity, it's okay, it's impossible to overdo it. The main thing is that the water should be sugary salty. You can use the sea clean water(namely, clean, otherwise it will be disgusting to smell like mud). Salt will draw juices from the tree, but the tree will not saturate.
3. We find sawdust of resinous wood species. Spruce, pine, the easiest to get. We take a saw: and forward. We need two powerful handfuls of sawdust (we rake the sawdust with both hands). It is sawdust, and not shavings from a simple hand planer. The shavings will come from an electric planer (you can get it at the nearest sawmill or cut it yourself). I always use them. They are quite small and are usually plentiful and easy to obtain. The more resin in the sawdust, the better. And the smaller the sawdust, the better. We fall asleep in a saucepan. Sawdust will give the suveli a pleasant ocher color. From soft pink-yellow to ocher-brown. Also see O The wood will add strength and texture to the wood.
4. When the water boils, reduce the fire and leave it simmering for 6-8 hours, maybe more, as long as you have enough patience. If the saucepan is large, then you can not turn down the flame, let the water boil and bubble. But you need to watch that the water does not boil away completely. Salt, sawdust, temperature and time will do their job. Add water as needed. During the cooking process, a red "broth" is formed. And scum. Scale is best removed immediately. It is very difficult to wash off.
5. It took 6-8 hours (depending on the size of the piece of wood). We take out the wood. Rinse under running water from sawdust. Water from a pot
   we throw it out as useless, but you can leave it for the next time, if there is where to store it. But pouring water is easier. We throw the growth
   on the closet, wrapping nothing. For a day or two, let it cool down.
6. We repeat the process of cooking and drying 2-4 times, depending on the volume of wood. You can use a pressure cooker to speed up the process. Time is reduced to 4-6 hours.
7. At the last cooking, you need to quickly peel off the bark while the tree is hot. Although she herself should fall off by this time. Carefully!!! Hot!!! Use gloves!
8. We throw it on the closet for a week or two. The wood is basically already dry, but let the remaining moisture go. The tree will "rivet" to the atmosphere. After the final drying, the tree will become like a bone, and it will be possible to cut, saw, grind it. There will be no foreign smell. It will only smell like wood.
9. In the process of accelerated drying of wood, it must be remembered that small cracks can be reflected, and therefore it is necessary to give
   allowance for their removal in subsequent processing.
10. Once again I remind you that large pieces cannot be dried like that. Cracked. Necessarily. Checked.
11. After the final adaptation of the tree to the atmosphere, we make a product from it. It is desirable to impregnate the suvel and cap with oil, and, if
    there is a desire, then wax too. The tree will show the texture, "play", as they say, all its inner beauty will appear.

If you have any questions or any clarifications about the above technology, I will answer to the best of my ability and ability.

Cap, suvel. Harvesting, drying, properties.

The author of this material is a great specialist in the artistic processing of wood (and not only wood), already familiar to us from Sergei from the Moscow region. Today Sergey will reveal a secret to readers quick drying such rare and interesting materials as burl and suvel. The information is very rare and useful. Reading...

So first, let's define some concepts.
KAP - (aka a witch's broom) is a benign formation on a tree, which is a bundle of thin twigs growing from a drop-shaped (most often) growth. When cross-sectioned, it has a texture with pronounced knot cores. It is difficult to process due to the strongly curly texture and the huge number of knots. Extremely beautiful, durable, perfectly sanded and polished.
Separate numerous areas have a mother-of-pearl tint. It has no great industrial value, but is highly valued because of its beauty. If it is used in industry, it is only in the form of veneer for furniture finishing (mostly exotic wood burl is used), as well as the production of small items such as caskets, cigarette cases, women's hairpins, small jewelry (birch burl). The use on knife handles is considered good taste and is also prized by wood carvers for its unique texture.
It is impossible to find two identical pieces of burl, even halves of a sawn burl have a different pattern, the growth is so heterogeneous. It grows on many trees (linden, alder, birch, maple, oak, etc.), but the most valuable and beautiful is birch (from those growing in our latitudes). The build-up is usually small, maximum the size of a volleyball or a large plate.
Cutting some kind of pattern on the cap does not make sense, since the texture clogs everything.
The photo shows a birch burl. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a cut of exactly a birch burl (I took these pictures next to the local police station and, as you understand, they wouldn’t give me anything to cut down there ... But I contrived and found a burl of ash, most of the burls are similar in texture and differ only color and size of knot cores.

SUVEL - (aka svil) As the name implies, the outgrowth got its name because of its structure (twisted structure, that's putting it mildly). Suvel is a drop-shaped or spherical growth on a tree (there is also an annular variety, it covers the tree trunk around the perimeter), it usually grows 2-3 times faster than the tree itself. When sawn, it has a texture similar in pattern to marble and mother-of-pearl (this is the main sign of difference from CAPA, in the future do not confuse suvel and burl).
The presence of mother-of-pearl stains on a polished tree creates a beautiful iridescent picture that glows from the inside. The twist is also poorly processed, like the burl, but not as hard. The size varies from a walnut up to 1.5 meters high (I myself saw one on a birch) and up to 2 meters in diameter (an annular suvel completely covered the tree trunk). In the Vatican, there is a font much more than a meter in diameter, carved from a single piece of suvel. He himself once sat in an armchair carved from suveli. Holds fine thread perfectly, but it is not recommended to cut the suvel. It is better to sand and varnish (impregnate with oil). The product will only benefit from this.
The most valuable is the root or butt streak. The presence of dark veins and well-defined twisted annual rings. This is a fairytale. BEAUTIFUL, that says it all. The barrel suvel is distinguished by a finer texture and a finer "frosty" pattern. And lighter wood. In terms of strength, the butt suvel is slightly superior to the stem one due to the structural features of the tree trunk. Suvel is strong, beautiful, easily polished and polished. Well-dried and processed, it begins to "glow" from the inside (with proper impregnation with oils, the tree becomes like amber and even a little transparent). Usually has a color from pale yellow to pinkish brown to quite ocher brown. It all depends on the conditions and drying time. Cap has the same colors.
Photos:

As you can see, the cap does not look like a suvel at all.

Chaga is a mushroom (not to be confused with a tinder fungus !!!) and we do not need it for our purposes.

So, how to dry. I must say right away that the "steaming" method is suitable for small pieces of wood. Somewhere in the half of a football ball or a small log.

1. We cut down the growth. We do this with a sharp saw. Otherwise, you will be tormented by sawing, and the tree will begin to shaggy. We do not clean the bark. Do not forget to cover the cut on the tree with oil paint or wax, or something similar.

CUTTING THE GROWTHS IS DESIRABLE IN THE DRY SEASON, IDEALLY - AT THE END OF AUGUST, THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER, BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF Sap ​​Flow.

2. We take an unnecessary pan (bucket), and throw a piece of wood there. The pan is precisely unnecessary, since during the cooking process a very tricky broth is formed, which is then very troublesome to wash. It is better to clean the piece of wood from all sorts of rags of birch bark and other fragile and dangling tails. still fall off.
I consider the birch growth as the most accessible and beautiful, the rest of the growths are cooked using the same technology. The log is accordingly cleaned of any debris and fragile particles. We pour water. It is convenient to do this with a faceted glass (it contains 250 ml). Water should cover the piece of wood by about a centimeter or two. The tree naturally floats up, but let's press it to the bottom and see everything. It doesn't matter if you pour water, cold or hot - it will boil anyway. You can throw a piece of wood into a saucepan no matter how much it is a pity, the volume of a separate piece of wood is important and not the total volume of wood.

3. We take table salt, which is not a pity. We don't make soup. Pour 2 large tablespoons with a top of salt per liter of water (who will count glasses of water ??? Huh?). It is possible and more, no matter how much it is a pity, it's okay, it's impossible to overdo it.
The main thing is that the water should be sugary salty. You can use clean sea water (just clean, otherwise it will be disgusting to smell like mud).
Salt will draw juices from the tree, but the tree will not saturate.

4. We find sawdust of resinous wood species. Spruce, pine, the easiest to get. We take a saw: and forward. We need two powerful handfuls of sawdust (we rake the sawdust with both hands). It is sawdust, and not shavings from a simple hand planer.
The shavings will come from an electric planer (you can get it at the nearest sawmill or cut it yourself). I always use them. They are quite small and are usually plentiful and easy to obtain. The more resin in the sawdust, the better. And the smaller the sawdust, the better. We fall asleep in a saucepan. It was possible to take a saucepan and more! Sawdust will give the suveli a pleasant ocher color. From soft pink-yellow to ocher-brown. And also resins will add strength to wood and show texture.

5. When the water boils, reduce the fire and leave it simmering for 6-8 hours, maybe more, as long as you have enough patience.
If the saucepan is large, then you can not turn down the flame, let the water boil and bubble. But you need to watch that the water does not boil away completely. Salt, sawdust, temperature and time will do their job. Add water as needed. During the cooking process, a red "broth" is formed. And scum. Scale is best removed immediately. It is very difficult to wash off.

6. 6-8 hours have passed (depending on the size of the piece of wood). We take out the wood. Rinse under running water from sawdust. We throw out the water from the pan as useless, but you can leave it for the next time, if you have somewhere to store it. But pouring water is easier. We throw the build-up on the cabinet with nothing on wrapping it. For a day or two, let it cool down.

7 The process of cooking and drying is repeated 2-4 times, depending on the volume of wood.
You can use a pressure cooker to speed up the process. Time is reduced to 4-6 hours.

8. At the last cooking, you need to quickly peel off the bark while the tree is hot. Although she herself should fall off by this time. Carefully!!! Hot!!! use gloves!

9. We throw it on the closet for a week or two. The wood is basically already dry, but let the remaining moisture go.
The tree will "get used" to the atmosphere. After the final drying, the tree will become like a bone, and it will be possible to cut, saw, grind it. There will be no foreign smell. It will only smell like wood.

10. In the process of accelerated drying of wood, it must be remembered that small cracks may appear, and therefore an allowance must be made for their removal in subsequent processing.

11. Where to look for growths... Naturally in the forest. BUT! there are no specific places of growth, they grow spontaneously, and the largest and most beautiful growths will be found by the most big-eyed and persistent. This activity is akin to hunting for mushrooms, whoever ran around the forest more and further got more.
Look like that's it. Once again I remind you that large pieces cannot be dried like that. Cracked. Necessarily. Checked.

12. After the tree has finally become accustomed to the atmosphere, you can start working with the workpiece. It is desirable to impregnate the suvel and cap with oil, and if there is a desire, then with wax too. The tree will show the texture, "play" what is called, all the inner beauty will appear.

If you have any questions or any clarifications about the above technology, I will answer to the best of my ability and ability.

I'm finishing with this, your Serjant.

A wide variety of handicrafts (caskets, cigarette cases, frames, etc.) have long been made from burl - this material of extraordinary strength and beauty - for a long time. Excellent samples of burl, or, as it was called, "onion" dishes, dated from the 16th-17th centuries, are kept in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin, as well as in the Zagorsk State Historical and Art Museum-Reserve. Looking at them, you will not immediately think that they were made with an ax, a scraper and a knife from a piece of wood, or rather, a growth on a birch.

The name of such a growth is cap, and it comes, as is commonly believed, from the ancient Slavic word "cap", which means head. At first glance, the burl growing on a tree really resembles in shape human head. The burl can be found both on the branches of old trees and on the trunk itself - the stem burl. If we remove the bark, we will see that the “head” is all covered with tubercles, papillae, needles. The rarest and therefore the most valuable burl is usually found on the branches. Usually its dimensions are small: 10...15 cm, but sometimes there are specimens up to 40 cm or more. To determine the value of the build-up, the master made a small cut with a damp cloth, or simply, impatiently licking his finger, ran it along the cut to see the main thing - a pattern that is unique in every burl “smelting”. Cap lends itself well to processing, does not warp, does not crack, does not swell, does not shrink, besides, it is so strong and weighty that some "craftsmen" wastefully make hammers out of it.

They find a burl on oak, walnut, black alder, aspen, but most often on birch. Sometimes there are several burls on one tree. Some experts believe that birch burl has the most beautiful wood, others - walnut. Kapokoren is nothing more than a burl formed at the root neck of a tree. Sometimes it protrudes above the ground. "Underground" burl (on the roots) can be found by the shoots that he lets out every spring. These non-viable, quickly withering shoots give black dots in the texture of the kaporon, located among the trunk fibers that are lighter in tone.

Kapokorni are circular, encircling a tree, and one-sided. The latter are most often formed with south side. The largest of the kapokorn reach a diameter of up to 2 m, and weigh as much as a ton.

Oak and walnut kapokorn are especially large in size. Of these, more than one countertop can be made. The old masters of Vyatka used to paste over furniture with plates sawn from kapokorn. True, the root cap is not valued as highly as a real one that has grown on a tree trunk or branch. The wood at the root cap is softer, and the pattern is simpler. A large caproot is characteristic of birches aged 70-80 years, growing freely - in clearings or forest edges. As a rule, burl birches grow most often in mixed forest, usually along streams, small rivers, near lakes and swamps, and they usually grow not too close to each other.

There is a double at the cap - suvel. This woody fold is an influx, which sometimes forms at the site of a fold or break in a young tree. Suvel wood is also quite strong. From it, cabinetmakers make handles for tools, grind skittles, croquet balls. Distinguishing a suvel from a burl is quite simple, since the surface of the first is smooth, and on its cut (saw) there is no main advantage of the burl - a beautiful texture. On the same section, only long and rare zigzags of fibers are visible.

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15.05.2017

The tree is the most common plant on earth.

Nature is incredibly generous, since it gave a person not only the opportunity to admire the beauty of trunks and leaves, but also to extract practical benefits from wood, because for several thousand years people have been using wooden products in their everyday life, building houses, boats, making furniture and household utensils, producing musical instruments, crafts, etc.

To date, there is no material capable of completely replacing the wonderful natural properties wood, because its density, color, texture, texture pattern and shades are unique in each case.

The natural originality of the wood pattern is especially evident in cape And suveli(ball-shaped or tear-shaped growths on trees), which pundits have identified as diseases.

These formations create a complex enchanting pattern of wood fibers inside, consisting of an interweaving of colored lines, spots, blotches, smoothly flowing into each other, which form, thus, a pattern of special beauty. Thanks to the richness of colors and lines, both burl and suvel are excellent natural material for the production of various handicrafts, decorations, interior items, since they have an exclusive texture (it is impossible to find two identical patterns in nature), and special strength and durability.

Let's try to determine how cap and suvel differ from each other, and what is common between them.

cap

Cap ( kapokoren or as it is also popularly called witch broom”) is a rounded benign formation on a trunk or branch with a large number of woody nodules. Cap, just differs from suveli in that it has many bumps on its outer side, which are created thanks to adnexal and dormant buds. These formations look like dark spikes and tubercles, which is why, often on the cap, you can observe small shoots and twigs growing directly from it.

According to some scientists, a burl on a tree occurs as a result of either a sharp change in the development of a plant, that is, it can have both a natural and an anthropogenic cause. Some scientists believe that the appearance of an ugly tumor on a tree may be a hereditary deformity.

Burl occurs mainly on deciduous trees, such as oak, linden, maple, alder, poplar, walnut, but most often it can be found on birch.

It has been noticed that on average, for one tree with a burl, there are from three to five thousand trees without such formation, so finding a good burl (unlike suveli) is quite difficult.

Most often, a root cap is found on trees, which can be simply giant size.

Usually, kapokoren it has a softly expressed texture inside and a drawing that is weak in contrast of colors.

A burl formed on a branch often has the shape of an irregular ball and, unlike the kapokorn, when cross-sectioned, its internal texture is replete with patterns with knot cores and has a kind of “needle” structure in the form of a small ornament with dashes and dots. The internal fibers of the wood are intertwined with each other in different directions, creating a picturesque pattern, and interspersed with dormant buds make the texture even richer, so the burl is most often used as a decorative element in the manufacture of various handicrafts, knife handles, gun butts, original dishes and other souvenirs.

In processing, due to the strong density of its texture and the huge number of knots, the burl is not simple, but at the same time it is perfectly ground and polished.

The main color of the internal texture of the cap is various shades of black or brown, ocher. Even if you take two halves of the same cap, they will still be different and have a different pattern, so the structure of the build-up is heterogeneous.

The wood of the burl is stronger than that of the suveli, and fifty to seventy percent stronger than that of the tree on which it was formed.

Small items are also produced from burl: caskets, cigarette cases, hairpins, earrings, bracelets, small jewelry.

It does not make sense to create a carved pattern on the cap, since the texture and texture of wood is beautiful in itself.

Souvelle

The formation of suveli is caused by a tree disease (cancer) and it most often represents a growth twisted and woven into a ball, which is why it is also called swilem.

Typically, the swirl grows two to three times faster than the tree itself and has a teardrop or spherical shape, located around the trunk or branch. The main difference between suveli and burl is that it is formed not from dormant buds, but due to the complex interweaving of annual rings bent in different directions (hence the name svil). On this basis, the cones on the tree are easy to distinguish from each other.

Growths (especially on birch) are quite common, although the reason for its formation has not been fully studied. Presumably, a fungus or mechanical damage to the tree bark can initiate the formation of a stria.

Suvel (popularly called tree bone), since its cut resembles stains of marble (with the same overflows and radial section), and thin parts are visible through and outwardly similar to bone, although the density of tissues, as mentioned above, is less for suveli than for burl, therefore its wood is less durable.

The outgrowth of the suveli can grow to gigantic sizes (for example, in the Vatican there is a font carved from a single piece of wood). However, the finer the swirl, the richer and brighter the drawing inside, although the pattern with ornamental elements will in any case be softer (without patterns in the form of “thorns” and “needles”, which are obligatory for the burl).

The internal texture of the suvel has a delicate mother-of-pearl hue, and the colors of each can vary greatly and contain white, yellow (resembling the color of amber), as well as brown, pinkish and green colors. The shade of suveli depends on the place where the tree grows and how it is dried.

Suvel can be formed by yourself, for this it is enough to drag the trunk or branch of the tree with wire. In place of the constriction, a convex formation will soon appear, created by annual rings.

Souvelle also lends itself well to processing, well ground, polished, and its mother-of-pearl cut, reminiscent of marble, playing with stains, has a unique texture and, as it were, glows from the inside.

Undoubtedly, by the appearance of the suveli, it is possible to determine how much beautiful drawing, it is impossible, but the more clumsy and twisted the growth looks externally, the richer its texture and pattern inside will be.

The root (butt) part of the suveli is considered the most valuable. It is of interest to wood carvers, painters, knife makers, sculptors and cabinetmakers, who choose this material for its exclusivity in cut, high strength, rot resistance and unique workability.

Search and preparation of growths

Naturally, it is necessary to look for bulges on a tree in the forest. At the same time, many people confuse burl and sville with a fungus similar to them from the genus (Inonotus), which most often lives on birch and is called chaga or black birch mushroom.

It is necessary to learn to determine where the fungus is and where the growth is.

It is best to cut down the streak and burl in autumn (September-October), when the trees stop the natural movement of sap and begin preparations for winter.

It must be remembered that without a good saw, a suvel or cap, especially if they are very clumsy, is not easy to cut, so this work is best done with a chainsaw, but it must be remembered that the tool chains quickly become dull due to the special strength of the build-up.

If there is no chainsaw, you will have to work with a hand saw, but it must have sharply honed edges. a good divorce cloves so that the master does not torment himself or the tree, and in vain does not hurt him.

The place of the cut (to avoid the formation of a hollow that is undesirable for the tree) must be immediately covered with garden pitch, painted over with oil paint or covered with clay.

When a massive kapokornya, it must be remembered that its cut is fraught with serious consequences for the tree and as a result of the injury it may die.

All of the above properties and burl, and svilya elevate these unique materials to the top of value among other types of wood, since they are used both in the decoration of various utilitarian items, as well as jewelry, small plastic and dishes.

Sometimes painful growths appear on the trees, which are popularly called "witch's broom." At first glance, this benign formation in its shape resembles a human head. That is why it is generally accepted that the name of the growth comes from the ancient Slavic word "cap". It means "head" in translation.

Where can you find growths on trees

Cap is found on walnuts and on oaks, on aspens, and however, the most common outgrowth is on birch. Cap is a bundle of thin twigs that grow from a drop-shaped neoplasm. Weigh "witch broom" can be about a ton.

stem? This is a growth that is located directly on the trunk of a tree. What is a kapokoren? This is a growth that has formed at the very root neck of the tree. Sometimes it can be seen above earth's surface. An underground burl grows on the roots. He is found on the run. Releases their cap in early spring. These shoots are not viable and quickly wither. Sometimes burl is found on tree branches.

The beauty of amazing material

If you make a cross section of the burl, you can find its structure, in which the cores of the knots are pronounced. The drawing of such material is always very beautiful. Due to the accumulation of unblown buds, the cut is an amazingly beautiful picture of knots, curls and twisted fibers. At the same time, the pattern for each cap is strictly individual.

The burl formed on trees with a striped texture of fibers and contrasting color combinations is distinguished by its special beauty. Pine growths have such characteristics. However, they are quite rare on these trees.

You can find black dots in the texture of the kapokorn. They are located among the light stem fibers. These black dots are nothing more than non-viable shoots that release underground neoplasms.

Where is cap applied?

As a material for carving, the build-up on the tree is not of particular value. Its rugged surface and striped mottled texture interfere with each other. When making crafts in this way, the relief of the carving does not look and the pattern of weaves and stains disappears.

Numerous areas of the burl have a mother-of-pearl tint. That is why this material, which has no special industrial significance, is valued very dearly. Cap products are mainly boxes and women's hairpins, cigarette cases and various small jewelry, bowls and chess and powder boxes, ink devices and The material is also used for the manufacture of knife handles.

What is cap in industry? This is a material that is used in the decoration of furniture. In this case, the growths formed on exotic trees are taken and used as veneer.

What is a cap for a master? It is a material that does not warp, crack, shrink or swell and is excellently processed. In addition, it is heavy and durable.

Where to find cap?

Growths grow on trees. Therefore, it is necessary to look for them in the forest. However, it is not so easy, because caps grow spontaneously, and only the most stubborn and big-eyed can see them. You can cut off the build-up only with a very sharply sharpened saw.
It is most realistic to find a cap at logging sites. There, these growths fall into the waste. At logging sites, there are also kapokorni, which you simply cannot find in the forest.

Preparation of material for work

Cap can be found on various types of trees. However, the most beautiful and valuable in our area is the growth that has arisen on a birch.

Cap products are not obtained immediately. The material requires some preliminary preparation. How to handle birch burl? To do this, you need to use the steaming method. It is suitable for those growths that are not very large in size. The cap is cleared of debris, placed in an unnecessary pan and filled with water. Then salt must be added to the container. For a liter of water, its dosage is two tablespoons with a top. Salt can be poured and more. She will draw the juice from the tree. With this method, sawdust obtained during the processing of resinous wood species is also used. They need to be put into a bowl. The sawdust gives the burl a pleasant color that can range from yellowish-pink to brownish-buff. The resins found in the sawdust will add strength to the build-up and allow the texture to show up brighter.

After boiling water, the fire should be slightly reduced and the pan left on the stove for six to eight hours. As scale builds up, it should be removed. In the process of steaming, it is necessary to monitor the volume of water in the pan and periodically add it.

At the end of the “cooking”, the build-up is washed from sawdust under running water and placed in a closet for a day or two. After that, the whole process should be repeated at least two to four times. During the last cooking, while the tree has not cooled down, you should peel off the bark from it, and at the end put the growth in a closet for one to two weeks.

Having completely dried out, the cap in its characteristics will become similar to the bone. The material prepared in this way is excellently cut, sawn and polished. At the same time, it will not have any foreign odors.

Making caskets

Crafts made from birch burl in their beauty are not inferior to souvenirs made of wood and even surpass them. Often magnificent caskets are made from this material.

In the process of work, the burl boards are carefully connected to each other, making sure that their texture pattern is similar. A very responsible operation is the manufacture of wooden hinges. This stage requires precise formation of rounded spikes and grooves on the edges of the cover and body of the product. The hinges must fit snugly and accurately. Another difficult operation is drilling holes. In wooden hinges, this is easiest to do with thin steel wire. At the next stage, a lock crashes into the box. The product is almost ready. It should only be puttied, dried thoroughly and coated with alkaline varnish. After completion of these works, the box is treated with polish and wiped with alcohol. The product is polished until the wood acquires and all the veins of its amazing texture play brightly.

cane decoration

Using a cap, you can make a great gift for an elderly person with your own hands. The work can be done even by a novice. Hollow cylinders should be alternately put on a tube or a metal rod, which are previously machined from birch kapokorn. Details should be tightly fitted to each other, creating the impression of a single whole. A carved or smooth birch handle can crown such a cane.

Burl bowl

Various souvenirs can be made from wooden growths. Popular burl products are decorative bowls. A rough blank is made from a little raw material. Next, the blank is left to dry. If small cracks form in it, then they are lubricated with PVA glue. After the final drying, the product is given the necessary shape, it is ground, polished and varnished.