Turning Saguaro

[Joe Sheble]

Living in Arizona, I have a few dead saguaro cactus in my yard, and I was curious if anyone had worked with it before? Or if anyone knows of a site, explaining what kind of prep is required to work with saguaro?

I've done quite a few cholla projects, got a bunch of it lying around the yard as well, but was hoping I could do something unique or interesting with the saguaro. Still has the skin and needles, it's been down for a couple of years...


Joe S.

 

[Bernie Hrytzak]

Probably should be soaked in cactus juice first.

 

[Joe Sheble]

Probably should be soaked in cactus juice first.

I was planning on doing that anyways, as I do with the cholla. The cholla is already bare, the saguaro still has it's needles and skin,and I'm not sure how to get to just the wood skeleton of it.

 

[Gary Beasley]

Have you tried slicing one open to see what kind of structure it has inside?

 

[Joe Sheble]

Have you tried slicing one open to see what kind of structure it has inside?

Not as of yet, but it does make sense to actually look at what is in there first...

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

OK here is a question (maybe a dumb one) why would you need to soak a cactus in cactus juice?

 

[Joe Sheble]

OK here is a question (maybe a dumb one) why would you need to soak a cactus in cactus juice?

Cactus Juice is a brand of resin used to stabilize wood.

Anyways, I did cut it open, and even though it's been dead for several years, it's still meaty inside. A lot of flesh to cut to get to the ribs, or the skeleton. More effort than I'm wanting to put forth right now...

 

[Gary Beasley]

Might try running across a chunk of it with a pressure washer to see if the “meat” can be blasted away..

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

OK regarding my dumb question I was just being a Smart A, which I am good at, so I did some research and it seams that the material to be stabilized must be dried and the "meat" would probably be full of moisture.
My suggestion would be to make a lawn sand box ornament until nature turns it into a bunch of sticks, which probably won't be good for anything.

 

[John Tisdale]

Joe,
I find what you're contemplating fascinating. Is there anybody out there that has ever turned saquaro? I googled Saguaro sculpture and found plenty of metal items - nothing using the actual material.
Look at https://www.flickr.com/photos/cybermynd/5537586940/ - there is clearly a woody structure.
It's all about problem solving. I've found that 9 out of 10 ideas are really dumb - get busy and get those first nine out of the way. And be open in your efforts - there are a bunch of regulars on this forum that will turn back-flips to share their experience and acquired knowledge.
You'll come up with something uniquely yours. I can assure there are some serious galleries out there that will jump all over a unique concept.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

OK regarding my dumb question I was just being a Smart A, which I am good at, so I did some research and it seams that the material to be stabilized must be dried and the "meat" would probably be full of moisture.
My suggestion would be to make a lawn sand box ornament until nature turns it into a bunch of sticks, which probably won't be good for anything.

I'm sure that since Joe purchased and used Cactus juice he is aware of the moisture issue. We baked everything to get the moisture out.

 

[John Torchick]

OK here is a question (maybe a dumb one) why would you need to soak a cactus in cactus juice?

My father always said the only dumb question was the one not asked. We learn by asking. If I had five cents for every question asked on the forum, I could have a 50X75 shop with all the latest tools.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

I'm sure that since Joe purchased and used Cactus juice he is aware of the moisture issue. We baked everything to get the moisture out.

I also Googled saguaro and it would appear that the woody part is just a bunch of sticks so drying it would appear to be a useless waste of time.

 

[Gary Beasley]

Ive seen projects on the web where cut wood or sticks were cast in resin to make some beautiful work. So it depends on finding something readily available and being in the mood to do something with it.

 

[Joe Sheble]

Ive seen projects on the web where cut wood or sticks were cast in resin to make some beautiful work. So it depends on finding something readily available and being in the mood to do something with it.

I usually do these types of things all the time... I've used a bunch of Oleander branches in resin to make lots of stuff, as well as cholla... I've attached a collage of some of the stuff I've done...

I cut my cactus open, cut away some of the meat, and saguaro wood is pretty much the same as cholla wood... The ribs are usually very long (as long as the cactus is tall) and is highly valued sine it's illegal to cut a saguaro down, you have to find one that's been dead for a very, very long time and the flesh has decomposed enough to harvest the ribs...

 

[Mark Wollschlager]

One of the cooler uses I have seen for saguaro was tool handles.
Bonnie Klein had some personal tools ( not for sale ) that she had used the skeleton 'wood' as a handle.
Small tools, 1/4" spindle gouge and smaller.
Felt good in the hand.