Turning Mesquite... a new desert dweller

[mrGeeze]

I'm new to the desert and a guy I know is taking down a big mesquite in a few weeks. He says I can have some of it and I'd like to prepare.

I've roughed out and finished hundreds of bowls back east. I learned at CAW (Capitol Area Woodturners) and refined my methods working with Bill Grumbine in Pa.
But this is the desert and Mesquite is a pretty hard wood.
I do have some experience turning Live Oak and Pecan and Hickory. Not really a big fan of any of it

So my normal approach
Show up with my chain saw, slab out blanks (removing the middle annual ring), paint/wax on both ends and try to recover from the grueling work that can be.
At least a few days (and whatever cocktail and/or analgesic is necessary) I'd rough turn some of the above blanks, normally put the roughouts in shavings and wait some time.
Look in the bags of shaving to make sure no mold was happening
After a month or so in the shavings I'd throw the roughouts in a box an wait a year. Then I'd finish them out.

Questions.
1. Does this approach work in the desert with mesquite?
2. What needs to change?
3. Can I turn a finished bowl from wet mesquite and not have it explode/delaminate. I expect it out of round.
4 Tips and tricks are appreciated.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I'm new to the desert and a guy I know is taking down a big mesquite in a few weeks. He says I can have some of it and I'd like to prepare.

I've roughed out and finished hundreds of bowls back east. I learned at CAW (Capitol Area Woodturners) and refined my methods working with Bill Grumbine in Pa.
But this is the desert and Mesquite is a pretty hard wood.
I do have some experience turning Live Oak and Pecan and Hickory. Not really a big fan of any of it

So my normal approach
Show up with my chain saw, slab out blanks (removing the middle annual ring), paint/wax on both ends and try to recover from the grueling work that can be.
At least a few days (and whatever cocktail and/or analgesic is necessary) I'd rough turn some of the above blanks, normally put the roughouts in shavings and wait some time.
Look in the bags of shaving to make sure no mold was happening
After a month or so in the shavings I'd throw the roughouts in a box an wait a year. Then I'd finish them out.

Questions.
1. Does this approach work in the desert with mesquite?
2. What needs to change?
3. Can I turn a finished bowl from wet mesquite and not have it explode/delaminate. I expect it out of round.
4 Tips and tricks are appreciated.

Forget about the bag of shavings ... in the desert, they are more of a desiccant than a way to slow the drying. Green mesquite turns wonderfully. Dry mesquite isn't all that hard, but it is terribly dusty. Mesquite is one of the few wood species in the world (maybe the only) that has almost no warping as it dries so you can turn green wood to final thickness. If you turn green mesquite to about ⅜" wall thickness or less it will probably be dry by the time that you take it off the lathe. If you want the piece to be perfectly round then rough turn it and sit it on a shelf for a week or two before finish turning. Sometimes I rough turn a piece then true it up with light cuts a few days later and repeat maybe one or two more times, but most of the time I just once turn mesquite.

For other species of wood, I prefer Anchorsealing the ends of logs and cut off as needed. For rough turned pieces I Anchorseal the whole thing for two or three months before final turning. As with mesquite, the shavings will probably be dry before they hit the ground and therefore In my opinion packing roughouts in dry shavings would be more likely to cause cracking rather than prevent cracking.

 

[John King]

Inventory all the mesquite you can get you hands on. It's a magnificent wood for turning. - John

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Sounds like great stuff. Wish you guys in the South would export some to us in the North.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

I am surprised that the TX people did not mention anything about the worms that like to burrow/eat mesquite, so maybe this will encourage them to.

 

[Randy Anderson]

My all time favorite wood to turn and finish. It doesn't grow here in TN but all my family lives in south TX so I can get some from my nephew when we visit. I've loaded up my truck with all I can pack in. It turns great, sands very well to a silky smooth finish with little effort and accepts oil finish well. I suggest get all you can and work every piece of it, small ring bowls, vases, pens, etc. When I was young living in TX it wasn't uncommon for folks to staple fence wire to it out in the fields so check it over for nails and staples.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I am surprised that the TX people did not mention anything about the worms that like to burrow/eat mesquite, so maybe this will encourage them to.

Mesquite borers are considered collaborators so they should rightfully be mentioned. It seems interesting and unexplainable, but in my experience, the borers often seem to remain dormant until they hear the sound of chainsaws. If the wood is turned immediately you can beat the borers to the wood, but otherwise, it is a design opportunity. Mesquite is not a plain Jane wood. In addition to the borers, there is ring shake, bark inclusions, interesting grain, wide variation in color from light brown to chocolate, and bright yellow sapwood. The uglier the hunk of wood the better the opportunity that lies inside.

 

[John King]

Don't worry about the worms/borers in the wood. It's part of the wood's character. If you are turning green mesquite, worms fly out as you are shaping the vessel. Likely all gone by the time you make finishing cut(s). You can leave the worm/borer holes/trails in the finished piece. Adds character to the piece. If you don't like worm/borer holes, fill them with favorite material. Turquoise looks great on mesquite. Bloodwood makes a nice accent piece. See photo. Once you have worked with mesquite you likely will not be able to get enough to satisfy you needs. - John

 

[Steve Nix]

Mesquite is my favorite wood to turn, and like others said you can turn from green to finish without fear of cracking or warping.

 

[Bill Boehme]

worms fly out as you are shaping the vessel

... and if you aren't in the habit of wearing a face shield, turning mesquite will make you a believer. Nothing quite rivals the taste of fat juicy mesquite borer larvae.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I have yet to find a wood harder than any of Thompson lathe tools, or even any of my older tools. I do not change my technique if a block of wood is a bit denser than others. The denser the wood, the more I like it, the easier it is to get a nice finish. I much prefer to turn Lignum than Poplar. Mesquite should be a fun wood to turn! Get as much as you can!

 

[robo hippy]

Wish I had a bunch of it to turn.... Seldom makes it up here. The few pieces I have gotten turned wonderfully.

robo hippy

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

I think I told this story before but I don't know how to find it.
In about 2014 a man from Grand Prairie TX who had inherited a lake cabin near me looked me up to see if I could turn something for him from a mesquite burl that he had and I told him that he should be able to find someone in TX to do it. The spring of 2015 he showed up at my place with the burl and said the club he contacted in TX was not interested so I agreed to turn some pieces from it in exchange for rides in his Stearman Biplane. The first pic from the plane looking south and my home is on the south shore top of the picture. The second picture is one of the bowls with design possibilities, which were filled with epoxy putty toped with turquoise. The third pic is from 2019 when he came back and asked if I could make new grips from the burl for his Colt 45.

.

 

[Dave Hulett]

As others have said, Mesquite is awesome wood. by far my favorite. turns and finishes beautifully and has very little movement as it dries. Whenever we make a trip to Texas, I bring home as much as my wife will let me!

 

[Bill Boehme]

I think I told this story before but I don't know how to find it.
In about 2014 a man from Grand Prairie TX who had inherited a lake cabin near me looked me up to see if I could turn something for him from a mesquite burl that he had and I told him that he should be able to find someone in TX to do it. The spring of 2015 he showed up at my place with the burl and said the club he contacted in TX was not interested so I agreed to turn some pieces from it in exchange for rides in his Stearman Biplane. The first pic from the plane looking south and my home is on the south shore top of the picture. The second picture is one of the bowls with design possibilities, which were filled with epoxy putty toped with turquoise. The third pic is from 2019 when he came back and asked if I could make new grips from the burl for his Colt 45.

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I used to have a plane hangered at the Grand Prairie airport and got my private license there about 45 years ago. I knew a lot of the pilots there, but the airport has changed considerably since then.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

I used to have a plane hangered at the Grand Prairie airport and got my private license there about 45 years ago. I knew a lot of the pilots there, but the airport has changed considerably since then.

Check out Gray Aviation Services - Wally Gray