Mesquite wood question

Dan Mosley

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Palm Springs, Ca
Wondering if anyone has ever turned Mesquite wood ? I got a call from someone who is cutting down one of their trees and wanted to know if i wanted some of the wood. Im not sure as i have never turned Mesquite nor do i know much about it............any thoughts ? Thanks
 
I got one chunk of Mesquite a while back, in a turning blank trade on SMC, it was really nice to to turn, I loved it and the color of it too. I understand it is one of the few woods that you can turn from start to finish with the wood green and NOT worry about it warping.

It usually does not come in large chunks, so if you can get your hands on some decent pieces, I know I'd take it :D :thumb:
 
Mesquite is great to turn. Like Stu said, you can turn a green blank to a finished piece with little to no warping and no cracking. It's very stable.

I also love the smell. :)
 
Wondering if anyone has ever turned Mesquite wood ? I got a call from someone who is cutting down one of their trees and wanted to know if i wanted some of the wood. Im not sure as i have never turned Mesquite nor do i know much about it............any thoughts ? Thanks

Dan,
A piece of mesquite is the culprit that got me into this turning thing :rolleyes:....
I saw a bowl done by an artist down in Fredericksburg that was breath taking.

Mesquite can be quite spectacular and it can be a little blahh... if you get some that has the reds and golds, it's great.

It's pretty stable wood, not a lot of movement even when turned green. Some people do have some reactions to it though, you might take proper precautions. I know when we lived in the Dallas area-just north of Dallas in The Colony and sorounded by mesquites, my wife was allergic to the pollen or something about the trees... when we moved back to Houston her allergies went away.

My take is take the wood.. free wood is good to get. Another use if you don't want to turn, it makes great smoking wood for brisket.
 
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Dan I would get all I could. Mesquite is a wonderful wood to turn. You can pretty much turn it from start to finish even being green and it won't move or crack. Besides I let the chips dry and put them in my smoker. :D
 
Chuck, I may be wrong, but is mesquite in the same family as our Hawaiian Kiawe wood?

It's pretty hard when dry, spilts a lot if not sealed when cut, and is down-right pretty. :thumb:

I have attached a picture of a gavel I turned out of DRY kiawe.

Most of this wood gets burned here for bar-b-quing and firewood.

It gets you itchy :rofl: when the sawdust or shavings lay on your sweaty skin and it stains skin too. But the results were worth it. I have to find some green Kiawe to try turning.

100_0872 (760 x 570).jpg

Aloha, Tony
 
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I'd recommend picking up as much as you can. It's a great wood to turn, and like others said, it doesn't warp or crack much. It's also beautiful for natural edge bowls.
 
some times i get real jealous. i live in colorado and i would love to be able to get some mesquite wood to turn. i have asked a few people who travel back and forth to the mex border but no wood yet.how heavy it mesquite any way,i mean to ship.like some bowl size peices.6 to 7 inch diameter and 3 to 4 inch deep?i have some people down arizona way might get in touch with them if some one can let me know what it would cost for shipping. i know it would be aproxamate amout of the cost but it would give me something to go on.
 
Mesquite is good, but you know that, the piece in your oil soaking thread is mesquite. Here are a couple pics of mesquite, thought I had more, can't find em. The weedpot on the left is the mesquite, other is ironwood.
 

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some times i get real jealous. i live in colorado and i would love to be able to get some mesquite wood to turn. i have asked a few people who travel back and forth to the mex border but no wood yet.how heavy it mesquite any way,i mean to ship.like some bowl size peices.6 to 7 inch diameter and 3 to 4 inch deep?i have some people down arizona way might get in touch with them if some one can let me know what it would cost for shipping. i know it would be aproxamate amout of the cost but it would give me something to go on.


Ralph,
Check out this site.. they will ship wood and he's appears to have a nice selection of blanks...

http://www.texaswoodcrafts.net/mesquite/

No affiliation.. just one of the sites I keep looking at ... someday may actually buy wood from him.
 
Another Miss Keet fan here. I love to turn it!

The only thing I'll add is that it can get "interesting" to turn. Mesquite is often full of voids and inclusions. It's rarely a problem and can yield some beautiful pieces. Rocks, dirt, small VW's... you just never know what you'll find in there!
 
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