Redwood Burl Reverse
It is possible to experience tear out during plane operations if the Redwood in question is highly figured with curly, wavy, or otherwise irregular grain, but this is a common problem with figured woods and suggested solutions such as very sharp cutters and modified cutter head angles are detailed by other authorities elsewhere.
Redwood is reported to have a distinctive odor when being worked but it is not noted to be pleasant or otherwise.
Pricing and Availability
Most all Redwood is sold as dimensional lumber and it is unusual to find turning blank sizes. Burl pieces are more likely to be sold as turning blanks that is otherwise plain Redwood.
When available, Redwood sells in the mid to upper price range for a construction lumber. Pieces that feature figure or burl pieces such as would be of interest to wood turners will command considerably higher prices.
In this blog, I almost always recommend several vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence. These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods, Bell Forest Products, NC Wood, Got Wood?, and WoodTurningz of Indiana. However, none of the fine vendors currently sells Redwood turning stock (West Penn Hardwoods does, however, have a small supply of Redwood burl). Most all vendors of Redwood are located in northern California and I do not have any knowledge of these vendors whatsoever.
I did do a quick search to see what I could find in terms of Redwood turning blanks but I am hesitant to promote those search results here because I have not direct experience of these vendors. Anyone with access to a search engine can find the same information and vendors and then choose to take their chances. I honestly no longer recall where I obtained my Redwood burl piece but I suspect it was part of a much larger lot of wood sold at a California auction some years ago.
Redwood Burl Exterior
Woodfinder is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Redwood, this can be an invaluable resource provided you use multiple search terms to capture all the possible listings. I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer in person to hand pick pieces at a comfortable price.
A significant problem with using Woodfinder is that many vendors are listed for woods that, upon further investigation, they do not offer. I don’t know if perhaps once they did and they didn’t update their listings or if some vendors use a standardized list of woods that include most everything conceivable with the idea that once you land on their page you will find something you want to buy even if you didn’t know it beforehand. It happens to me all the time!
Uses
As mentioned before, most of the common uses of Redwood exploit its excellent resistance to rot. Such common uses include construction lumber, beams, posts, decking, exterior furniture, and trim. Redwood burl, along with other forms of figured Redwood, find use in veneer, turning blanks, musical instruments (guitar backs), and other small specialty items.
Sustainability
Redwood is not listed as being in any way threatened or endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices but it is on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Redwood is listed as vulnerable due to a population reduction of approximately 40% in the past three generations, caused by a decline in its natural range, and exploitation.