Editing Burl (section)

==Working the wood==
The prized "{{vanchor|burr maple}}" is not a species of a maple, but wood from a maple's burl (burr).
The famous [[birdseye maple]] of the sugar maple (''[[Acer saccharum]]'') superficially resembles burr maple, but it is something else entirely.
Burl wood is very hard to work with hand tools or on a [[lathe]], because its grain is twisted and interlocked, causing it to chip and shatter unpredictably. This "wild grain" makes burl wood extremely dense and resistant to splitting, which made it valued for bowls, mallets, [[splitting maul|maul]]s and "beetles" or "beadles" for hammering chisels and driving wooden pegs.<ref>Sloane, Eric (1973). ''A Museum of Early American Tools''. New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 28–32. {{ISBN|0-486-42560-6}}.</ref>