I'm about 2/3 done with my first load of mesquite (4 logs 11" x 3' long, and the mesquite alien ball "thang" which we think is a burl). My experience to date is as follows.
Initial processing:
Initially when I chainsawed up the logs I found both radial cracks and windshake cracks. Radial cracks go in a line from the pith to the outside of the tree. Windshake cracks follow the growth rings. It's possible some of the cracks were caused during takedown - some by bulldozer, and some by chainsaw.
With all the cracks I was a bit dismayed at the quality of the wood. But one other turner who has done a lot of mesquite told me that's pretty normal. If your experience is different I'd like to know. This wood is 2-3 months old (from the initial cutting). I don't call it harvesting because no trees are being planted to replace the trees cut down - in this case an automobile plant is going there.
The wood is full of borers. They are only in the bark and the outer cambium layer. None are in the heartwood. When it's quiet in the shop I can sit next to the unprocessed chainsawed blanks and literally hear ticking noises in the wood. The critters are eating it up before I can get to it !!
Rough turning:
Turning the wood is a challenge with all the cracks. About half the pieces cannot possibly become bowls - they would fall apart from the windshake cracks. All intial rough turning is being done between centers. It is difficult to turn a decent foot on some of the pieces because of the cracks. Also, RPMs have been lowered because of the somewhat unstable wood. As a result most pieces have become hollow forms, usually with the outside of the log at the top of the hollow form. This shows off some of the cream colored sapwood. And let's face it, hollow forms are popular pieces.
The wood itself is a rich dark brown in the green wood. Most of the turning results in small shavings or dust, even in the green wood. The wood is very dense. I am having to sharpen my Crown ProPM roughing gouge at least twice as much as when processing ash or similar wood to ash.
The shavings/dust are very dense. I donate all my shavings to neighbors for their flowerbeds via 30 gallon bags. These shavings do not dry out as fast, and when they finally are dry the 30 gallon bags are twice as heavy as ash, oak, etc. Wet shavings don't get put into the bags because they get mildewey and stinky quickly.
I use leather gloves at this point during turning. They keep my hands clean. The first few days I didn't. The mesquite stained my hands a splotchy dark brown. It looked like my hands and forearms were dirty, even after using Lava (borax) soap. A side benefit of the leather gloves is they protect the hands when pieces of bark fly off.
Bugs and drying:
Because of the bugs I'm soaking all the rough turned blanks in Denatured Alcohol (DA), 3 gallons of DA in a 5 gallon bucket. The DA treatment is 24-48 hours and is supposed to also help with drying. The cover is put on the DA to keep it from evaporating. One thing is clear. I do not hear any "ticking" in the wood blanks after their little bath = no more bugs. The DA bathwater is dark brown at this point. However I have not noticed any staining of the cream colored sapwood for recent soakings.
Don't stick your hands in the DA if you have a small cut. It hurts a lot. I got smart real quick and haven't tried it the second time. :cool2:
After a half day of air drying, the thick roughouts are going into paper bags to finish the drying process. It would be difficult to use my traditional method of Anchorsealing each blank because of all the bark. The bark wouldn't look nice with wax on it, and the bark won't all get turned in the final turning.
The mesquite burl "thang" is going to get cut in half in the next couple of days. I'll post the results if the aliens in the "thang" don't beam me up.
If anyone has comments on mesquite I'd like to hear them. It is substantially different than ash, chinaberry, or hackberry in my opinion.
Initial processing:
Initially when I chainsawed up the logs I found both radial cracks and windshake cracks. Radial cracks go in a line from the pith to the outside of the tree. Windshake cracks follow the growth rings. It's possible some of the cracks were caused during takedown - some by bulldozer, and some by chainsaw.
With all the cracks I was a bit dismayed at the quality of the wood. But one other turner who has done a lot of mesquite told me that's pretty normal. If your experience is different I'd like to know. This wood is 2-3 months old (from the initial cutting). I don't call it harvesting because no trees are being planted to replace the trees cut down - in this case an automobile plant is going there.
The wood is full of borers. They are only in the bark and the outer cambium layer. None are in the heartwood. When it's quiet in the shop I can sit next to the unprocessed chainsawed blanks and literally hear ticking noises in the wood. The critters are eating it up before I can get to it !!
Rough turning:
Turning the wood is a challenge with all the cracks. About half the pieces cannot possibly become bowls - they would fall apart from the windshake cracks. All intial rough turning is being done between centers. It is difficult to turn a decent foot on some of the pieces because of the cracks. Also, RPMs have been lowered because of the somewhat unstable wood. As a result most pieces have become hollow forms, usually with the outside of the log at the top of the hollow form. This shows off some of the cream colored sapwood. And let's face it, hollow forms are popular pieces.
The wood itself is a rich dark brown in the green wood. Most of the turning results in small shavings or dust, even in the green wood. The wood is very dense. I am having to sharpen my Crown ProPM roughing gouge at least twice as much as when processing ash or similar wood to ash.
The shavings/dust are very dense. I donate all my shavings to neighbors for their flowerbeds via 30 gallon bags. These shavings do not dry out as fast, and when they finally are dry the 30 gallon bags are twice as heavy as ash, oak, etc. Wet shavings don't get put into the bags because they get mildewey and stinky quickly.
I use leather gloves at this point during turning. They keep my hands clean. The first few days I didn't. The mesquite stained my hands a splotchy dark brown. It looked like my hands and forearms were dirty, even after using Lava (borax) soap. A side benefit of the leather gloves is they protect the hands when pieces of bark fly off.
Bugs and drying:
Because of the bugs I'm soaking all the rough turned blanks in Denatured Alcohol (DA), 3 gallons of DA in a 5 gallon bucket. The DA treatment is 24-48 hours and is supposed to also help with drying. The cover is put on the DA to keep it from evaporating. One thing is clear. I do not hear any "ticking" in the wood blanks after their little bath = no more bugs. The DA bathwater is dark brown at this point. However I have not noticed any staining of the cream colored sapwood for recent soakings.
Don't stick your hands in the DA if you have a small cut. It hurts a lot. I got smart real quick and haven't tried it the second time. :cool2:
After a half day of air drying, the thick roughouts are going into paper bags to finish the drying process. It would be difficult to use my traditional method of Anchorsealing each blank because of all the bark. The bark wouldn't look nice with wax on it, and the bark won't all get turned in the final turning.
The mesquite burl "thang" is going to get cut in half in the next couple of days. I'll post the results if the aliens in the "thang" don't beam me up.
If anyone has comments on mesquite I'd like to hear them. It is substantially different than ash, chinaberry, or hackberry in my opinion.
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