Mesquite Blanks

[Jeff Eckrich]

I just recieved 3 mesquite logs each about 9" in diameter and 8 " long.
They still have bark on them and a 22% moisture level.
I sealed the ends and am going to store them.
Should I be worried about bugs in the wood?
I put them in a shed in the back yard, don't need AZ criters in my WI basement.Question, is it necessary to store outside?
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Laurence Giglio]

Mesquite is quite stable. And they may have hammerhead grubs in them, about 3/4 of an inch long, 1/4 inch in diameter with a "T" head and they are hardy. Wear a face shield when turning or else keep mouth closed. I got a bunch of whole mesquite logs and was still turning them two years later, and the grubs were still alive in the last one. After getting them home from the woodlot I was sitting in the quiet garage with a stack of 10 whole logs ranging from 4 inch diameter to 12 inches, and I thought I heard munching. I listenned and could swear I could hear soft munching. I said, nah, went in for the night and next morning came out and where the logs were laying on the garage floor, I could see small piles of real fine sawdust. I turned one that day and there were a whole slug of bugs, all alive, wiggly and splatting the face shield. I had a bowl nearly complete on the chuck, went in for the night and when I came out the next day, in the base between the chuck and the bottom of the bowl, a hammerhead emerged from the bottom overnight. Picked he sucker out with a dental pick. Normally, if the tree has good water source when its growing, the water flow up the bark layer will prevent the larvae from entering the wood from the adult moth stage. But since mesquite these days are in bone dry areas, the wood is water stressed and the larvae get past that layer, then hav a filed time in the wood. They will go clear thru the whole log, and there will be many such tunnels in the wood.

You dont have to wait for them to dry that much. You can even turn whole log, leaving the pith at the bottom in the center, with at most a slight crack forming but not splitting the bowl bottom. For that I have found the best tool to use is the termite cutter from Oneway.

Have fun, and the smell from the wood will be distinctive and the dust will be pervasive.. Dont toss the shavings away, keep them, when cooking o the grill, soak some in water for 10 minutes, then when you place the burgers/steak on the grill, grab a fist size pile of soaking cuttings, wring out the water with your hand and toss them directly onto the coals, the instant smoke will add nice flavor to the meat.

 

[Jeff Eckrich]

Thanks Laurance for the info.me more question what finish do you prefer/
Jeff

 

[Jeff Eckrich]

Mesquite blank

Laurence, one more question, what moisture % would turn at?
Jeff

 

[Andy Chen]

Jeff,

Mesquite is one of the most stable wood species. It shrinks very little from harvest to kiln dried. (See http://www.planethardwood.com/documents/WoodStabilityChart.pdf) Many here in Texas would turn it very green to finished dimensions without concern about distortion when it's dry later.

Any finish is good on mesquite, but my preference is Waterlox "Original".

Laurence,

The "hammerhead grubs" you spoke off are probably mesquite borers which are a long-horned beetle in the family of Cerambycidae, not a moth, which is in a different Order, Lepidoptera all together (beetles being in the Order, Coleoptera). (See http://www.texasento.net/Placosternus.htm) Trust me, I was an entomologist before I was a turner.

I was once cutting up a mesquite log in the Texas Hill Country, and out of nowhere came dozens of these beetles and they started laying eggs, which are not visible to naked eyes, esp. on the (very) rough bark of mesquite. It is the larvae that hatch from these eggs that bore into the wood (mostly just the cambium layer and the sapwood) and do the damage. Once they bore into the wood they are essentially protected from many treatments. One south Texas mesquite dealer told me that he fumigates his logs, which is effective. It is a commercial operation that requires a license and most of us turners can't do.

Most plants have natural protective mechanisms against natural enemies when they are healthy. When they are weakened by stress of one sort or another they become susceptible to attack by these natural enemies. In the case of mesquite not only does the damaged/weakened wood become susceptible to the beetle attack but there might even be a kairomone that attracts the beetles, judging from the short time from us cutting the log to the arrival of the beetles.

The bottom line, Jeff, we have no idea if your mesquite has any beetle eggs/larvae inside. The safest thing to do is to turn the blanks right away. That way even if there are larvae inside, the damage is minimal and might not be visible. Since mesquite is stable, you have little concern about distortion when it becomes dry. Oh, because the wood is stable, checking is not likely, unless you have "ring checks" to start with, which is common in mesquite for some reason.

Mesquite ranks high on many turners' list, me included, and some has a pleasant aroma. So, enjoy turning it.

 

[Steve Worcester]

they have beetles or they don't, not unlike any wood. The telltale is they have beetle trails, little grain on the ground. Or leave them in the shop late at night and listen for the chomping.

Rough turn and while you are turning see if there are tunnels, you can't miss them. If there are you can inject them with mineral spirits to kill the beetle larvae.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I mostly turn mesquite and I have never encountered the beetles in any living green mesquite, but invariably the telltale signs will appear within a couple weeks after cutting the wood -- yellow powder and the unmistakable clicking sound. While they can enter the heartwood, they mostly feast on the sapwood. The tunnels can sometimes be featured as a design element in decorative pieces.

I can't imagine intentionally letting the wood dry before turning it. The only "benefit" of doing so is that you get more practice sharpening your tools and get to breathe more dust. Green mesquite turns wonderfully and as already stated, it is very stable. At 22% MC, your mesquite is well on its way to being dry so it won't be as nice as turning freshly cut green mesquite. It is WAY past the point of needing to be coated with Anchorseal. It is too bad that your pieces were cut so short because mesquite can develop check and shake cracks on the ends of unsealed green logs.