Questions on working with mesquite

[Troy Turner]

I came across an ad on CL talking about having mesquite, walnut, and aromatic cedar. I emailed them to ask for a price and I'll go take a look at them this week. They're advertising as rough sawn. Having only worked with pine and plys I've got a couple of questions:

1. What's going to be a good price for some boards? I'm in West Texas if that helps.

2. My T/S is an older Craftsman with a 1.5hp belt drive and my B/S is a 12" belt drive as well. I know mesquite is hard, but I'm hoping these two tools will handle it. Any ideas on blades though?

I don't know what I'm going to make yet...probably some frames to start off with, then maybe a shelf, and depending on how much he has and how much he wants, maybe some furniture.
Thanks for the inputs ya'll...

[Cody Colston]

The price of Mesquite, like most lumber, varies with the grade and the size...only with Mesquite the size means the length.

I get mine from M&G Sawmill in Huntsville, TX. For 4/4 No. 1 Common $6.50 < 5' long to $7.50 > 5' long.

4/4 FAS/SEL goes for $9.50 to 10.50 with 5 ft. being the differing length.

Those are good prices, too. It's unlikely you will find quality Mesquite at lower prices, at least not everyday price.

With a decent, sharp, carbide-tipped blade, your Craftsman saw should handle 4/4 Mesquite with no problem.

Ditto on the 12" bandsaw. I've gone to a 3/8" Lenox bimetal blade on my bandsaw for every day use. It should also work pretty good on your 12" BS. I'm assuming you are talking about cutting curves and not resawing.

Mesquite is a great wood and once you work it, you will likely fall in love with it. Just be aware that even the good stuff often has checks, cracks, bark inclusions and the like in it. Filled with black-colored epoxy and smoothed, those "defects" are part of the allure of Mesquite.

[Leigh Betsch]

I've never worked with it but I want to. I thought I was going to get away for a road trip this spring to visit a friend and pick up some but it didn't work out. So I have a chunk coming that I intend to make a joiner plane out of.
Prices seem to vary from what I can tell, from $6/bft green to $12/bft kiln dried, and anywhere in between.
Good luck post a pic or two.

[lowell holmes]

Mesquite has the lowest expansion factor due to moisture according to a test run at Homestead Heritage in Elm Mott, Texas. I built a mesquite rocking chair there. The wood was easy to work. It can tend to be brittle and does have checks and voids.
I think the best selection of mesquite comes from South of San Antonio.

[Gene Howe]

Your TS and a nice sharp blade will do fine.
Resawing Mesquite can be challenging. I use a 1/2" bimetal blade. Mine is 4tpi as that's what was available from Suffolk Machinery when I ordered it. I does fine, though. 3tpi would be better, I think.
The price quoted by other posters is about right. I buy 4'-6' logs, destined for firewood, and mill them myself. $95.00 for a PU load. Lotta work but, I'm retired.:)

[Neal Clayton]

as for the walnut, i pay 3.00 for 1x rough select stuff here, but it's local to the area. the cedar has limited usefulness because of how soft it is. we pay about 1.50 a foot for it here, also locally harvested, so your mileage may vary on that in west texas.

[Dave MacArthur]

There's a lot of mesquite out here in Az, although there really are 4 or 5 different species. I've got about 8 logs from trees that blew over in storms the last 3 years, some of it 9" diam which is good for mesquite (black and chilean mesquite mostly). I've resawn one smaller log on my 14" Delta band saw, 3/8" 3TPI blade worked ok. I'm saving the rest for when I *finally* buy a 17"-20" band saw... but I enjoy shopping for them so much and reading, I may not ever commit!

The logs look twisted when you see mesquite un-milled, but everyone I've talked to says it's extremely stable. There is a place here in Phoenix, Az Hardwoods, that has a giant warehouse of mesquite they get from Mexico in trade of used machines they ship down there, great prices, I'm remembering $4-$5/BF? I see a lot of tables made with it, and as noted above the cracks are filled with epoxy which really lends to the look/feel of mesquite. I'd love to have some cabinets made of it, but don't have the time just yet... or the bandsaw ;)

[William Addison]

Mesquite and palm is about all we have here so I work with mesquite a lot and it's very easy to work with. Maybe I'm just used to it but I don't find it to be much different from anything else.

I like the Mesquite that grows in South Texas because when finished it is much redder than upcountry wood. There is a mill in Kingsville than has good coastal Mesquite and if anyone wants the number PM me.

[Troy Turner]

Awesome inputs ya'll. Sounds like this is defintely something worth looking into and giving my tools something else to chew on other than BORG's pine boards.

Going down at lunch to look at his inventory. He said he's got everything from mantle sized to 3/4.

I'll keep you posted to what I find out.

[Troy Turner]

So I went out to look at it..not what I thought, but maybe should've expected. it was outside, so it was weathered. He said when I plane it or sand it, it'll come back to life. Still had the bark on the edges which I thought was pretty cool looking. Slabs were 1 1/2 to 2" thick and most looked about 2' wide and 4-5' long. Have to figure out how much I need before I go back with my trailor. Also had a "log" of aromatic sawn up into pretty good slabs to. Won't tell you how much he wants for it all till I get back and get my stash first :)

[Troy Turner]

If you want some mesquite at a REALLY reasonable price, PM me. Don't know exactly what he wants for it, it was kind of one of those "...if you want this pile, I'll give it to you for this..." kinda deal.