Mesquite

[Marlin Adams]

As a kid my family lived out in the country mostly here in rural Texas. We lived on a 25 acre farm that mainly had mesquite trees and I also learned real quick how to repair my own bike tires . My dad did alot with mesquite from turning bowels and pens and a few other things on his lathe to building furniture and such, and this was his hobby to relieve the stress he had from being a rural lawman at the time.

I do know it is kinda hard to find a mesquite tree long and striaght enough to get some decent lumber out of but in the few wood working forums including this one no mention of mesquite except for grilling and smoking .

Being a native Texan I thought of trying my hand in working with mesquite since I have friends and family that live out in the country that have land where this tree grows and wonder if any others like on this forum works with it?

 

[Ed Sandle]

I used to winter in Texas, by Corpus Christi, and attended their woodturning club during my times there. I used to bring a load of maple down for the members there, and they would send me home with a load of mesquite. I've turned quite a bit of it, and I really liked it. Turned easy, smooth, with very little sanding required, and virtually no warping. Never had to double turn. Most of the wood I was given, was quite dry by the time I got to turn it. I really miss my times with my friends there, they were great people to be with.

 

[hockenbery]

working forums including this one no mention of mesquite except for grilling

I did a Search in the forum for “mesquite”. - got a 188 hits
You haven’t been in the forum too long.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised that mesquite is turned a lot where it grows.
And it get a lot of mention from time to time and pieces are in the photo gallery quite regularly.

 

[John Jordan]

One of the the best. As mentioned, extremely stable, easy to sand and finish. The only problem is lots of bugs, holes and cracks. I don't like those things, so it has to be a pretty big tree for me to get a clean piece.

This little jar is mesquite, with a steel lid.

John

 

[Fadi Zeidan]

I mainly work with mesquite, so do most of our local club members. Mesquite is great because you can turn it green and it won’t change shape as it dries. I only turn on weekends for fun though, not volume turner.

My main complaint about mesquite is the pith. It is always cracked, or has cracks developing.

 

[Odie]

I have turned a few pieces of mesquite.....only small ring dish sized pieces. I don't like it very much, because it's very straight grained and not very interesting by itself. I concur with the other comments, that it turns well. It's a good base for someone who does a lot of embellishment, but not that suitable for my kind of turning......,.

 

[Charlie M]

Mesquite is a free-wood turning material for me and I find it a joy to work with, especially green. Since you are in the DFW area, you might check into the AAW chapter clubs that are near you.

 

[Gary Beasley]

Norm Abrams did a show where he built a large cabinet using mesquite. He did have to fill some voids with black epoxy to make it right. I think the stuff would do quite well in segmetation projects just for the color, beautiful wood!

 

[Bill Boehme]

Mesquite is my favorite wood to turn. A couple months ago a bunch of us in the Woodturners of North Texas went down to Elm Mott just north of
Waco where there were some really large mesquite trees. This was when we were having several weeks of heavy rain and several of the trucks got stuck in the mud after loading up with heavy loads of mesquite. Turning green mesquite is like turning butter and turning dry mesquite is hard and dusty, but the good news is that it can be turned to final dimensions while green without the warping and cracking problems that other wood has.

 

[Denis Lecavalier]

Mesquite can be gorgeous if your turning can show off the strong contrast in color between the heartwood and the sapwood.

 

[John Turpin]

I like turning the stuff, but must be allergic to it. My nose clogs up immediately and stays clogged for a day or so after.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I like turning the stuff, but must be allergic to it. My nose clogs up immediately and stays clogged for a day or so after.

Are you using adequate dust protection? When you blow your nose do you see about half a log's work of wood dust?

 

[Todd Halleman]

I’ve turned mesquite burl before. Some of the easiest wood I’ve worked with. It cut well, sanded well. And finished well.

 

[John Turpin]

Are you using adequate dust protection? When you blow your nose do you see about half a log's work of wood dust?

I've never invested in a hood system, but I obviously need one for Mesquite. My facemask gets most of the dust, but not all. So far, Mesquite seems to be the only wood that I react to like that.

 

[Marlin Adams]

I've never invested in a hood system, but I obviously need one for Mesquite. My facemask gets most of the dust, but not all. So far, Mesquite seems to be the only wood that I react to like that.[/QUOTE

May I ask if you ever bbq or smoke using mesquite? The reason I ask my wife has mesquite allergies and I bbq alot and the frist time I did mesquite with her she could not be around the smoke or eat the bbq.

 

[Marlin Adams]

Well all these replies makes me happy. Now to get my planer paid off and invest in a larger bandsaw and get a benchtop lathe.

 

[John Turpin]

Hi Marlin. I have smoked with Mesquite quite a bit and I've never noticed any problem with the smoke. But, turning the stuff lights me up. My face even looks a little "rashy". However, I will certainly put up with this reaction. A wormy Mesquite bowl is a beautiful thing and I've sold three of them in the last few months.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I've never invested in a hood system, but I obviously need one for Mesquite. My facemask gets most of the dust, but not all. So far, Mesquite seems to be the only wood that I react to like that.

Having a powered respirator isn't essential although they really are nice. However, it really is essential to use adequate respiratory protection. The familiar hardware store paper dust mask isn't adequate because it doesn't filter out the most harmful dust that is smaller than one micron. They are also uncomfortable, don't seal well against the face, are hot, and fog the wearers glasses. The Dust-Bee-Gone cloth masks that some woodturners use solves the problems of comfort and fogging glasses, but don't capture the harmful dust, so they really aren't any better than the "comfort masks". My opinion is that as a minimum we should use dust masks rated at least N95 and have an exhalation valve and face seal. The best disposable masks are the ones rated P100, have a compliant rubber face seal, two adjustable head straps, and an exhalation valve.

 

[Marlin Adams]

Hi Marlin. I have smoked with Mesquite quite a bit and I've never noticed any problem with the smoke. But, turning the stuff lights me up. My face even looks a little "rashy". However, I will certainly put up with this reaction. A wormy Mesquite bowl is a beautiful thing and I've sold three of them in the last few months.

Ya know I have the same problem with cedar when it is freshly cut otherwords not dried or kiln dry. Me and my mom get affected like you do when I was a kid and my dad cut down a live cedar tree for christmas. But have no affect to cedar wood I buy from lumber yards or the big box stores than been properly dried or run thru the kiln. Could be the sap you are being affected by like my mom and I with fresh cut cedar.

 

[RichColvin]

I’ve turned mesquite burl before. Some of the easiest wood I’ve worked with. It cut well, sanded well. And finished well.

Todd,

That is really nice work. Well done!

Kind regards,
Rich

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

I have gotten mesquite from relatives in Texas and though it seams quite bland it does turn well. A few years ago a man with family ties in west central MN who spends his summers here asked me if I could turn some bowls from mesquite burl but, since he was flying in an open cockpit biplane, I told him he should check with the turning clubs in the DF area. At the end of the summer he left the plane at the local airport and flew back commercial. The following spring he showed up in a pickup truck with the burl and said no one in D-F was interested so I made a deal to turn some pieces for him in exchange for a couple rides.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

I think I got the better deal.

 

[John Tisdale]

Marlin,
Welcome to the forum and, if I understood a comment above, welcome back to TX. Rockwall is between two great turning clubs: Dallas Area Woodturners and Hunt County Woodturners. Hope to meet you soon - Dallas meets every third Thursday at Wood World - NE quadrant of LBJ and Central.
And yes, we do turn mesquite. My favorite is mistletoe burl - I get it from the King Ranch / Corpus Christi area.
Regards,
John

 

[egsiegel]

I love turning Mesquite...when I can get it.
Had a source in TX that used to send it to me...but his wife kicked him out and burned his stash...
I miss that wood