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This is a long shot to see if anyone might have or know where to get a piece of Arbutus (Madrone) burl large enough for a guitar headplate, say 1/8" x 3 x 8. I'd happily pay for a larger piece if necessary. I can find veneer readily online (.040" thick or so) but would prefer a thicker piece if I can find it. There are also lots of other species in burl but not Arbutus. I have an Arbutus back and side set I'm looking ahead to, and a piece of burl for the headplate would be a nice touch. If I have to, I will laminate a piece of veneer to a piece of Arbutus, but there is always the concern of sanding through it when inlaying MOP. Incidentally, I've heard that Arbutus burl was hoarded somewhat by Mercedes for car dashboards. Bruce W.

I've got some Manzanita burls to cut up that might work. It's a close relative to Arbutus. here's a pic of some. How thick should the pieces be. I'll try to slice a big one up today or tomorrow.

I might be interested in buying a couple of pieces. Do you think they're large enough for rosette blanks, say...6x6"?

I've usually made segmented rosettes from smaller burls. I'll try to get some pics for the show it off section soon.
Diane, if I can figure out a secure burl holding jig for the bandsaw, I'll slice some whole rounds off a 6"-8" burl.
Bruce, I've made several headplates by butterflying some with more interesting grain and they turned out great.
Let us see what comes out of the one I just brought in the shop.

I don't think I've ever seen manzanita that big - maybe right at the base. It might be a nice finishing touch, so I'll look forward to seeing what you come up with. Do you have to soak it or treat it? I've heard some say that you do have to do that for Madrone/Arbutus.

Go here they have madrone burl all the time for sale.

https://oregonburls.com/

Greg is the owner, talk to him.

I've purchased it for duck calls over the last few years.

Kevin

Thanks for the link Kevin - he did not show up in my web searches (though I admit I do not use Google . . . ) He does have some guitar sets for sale that I (because of inexperience) would be hesitant to build with, but could cut up to get the best figure out of it for several headplates. Shipping this to Canada is a killer . . .

Kevin - it took me a while to find photos of your work in the gallery on the burl site - beautiful stuff! Bruce W.

Thanks Bruce
I hope you can get your madrone burl. It is pretty stuff. Hard to come by with no cracks though.
They do boil some which keeps it from cracking, but darkens it some.