Mesquite Bangle

[Kathy Marshall]

This is the 1st bracelet/bangle I've turned. One of the members of our turning club loaned me another of his Jimmy Clewes DVD sets (I think he has them all, and I think I've seen them all) and one of the projects on this set was a bangle. His instructions were straightforward and easy to follow (I've enjoyed all of his videos and recommend them especially for beginning turners).

When I was looking for some wood to use, I found a mesquite spindle blank that had some checking on the ends, but after trimming the ends would still leave enough wood for 4 or 5 bangles. So this one was turned endgrain (I'll probably do another one face grain for a different look).

The inside diameter is about 2 1/2" maybe a little more, the width is about just under 1/2". I drilled some holes and filled with turquoise inlace. The finish is some BLO followed by a light coat of lacquer sanding sealer and then Ren wax.
205753

Thanks for looking!
As always comments and critiques are welcome.

[Barry Richardson]

Hey Kathy, I have some desert ironwood you can have if you want to give that a try. Works really nice for bangles...

[Roger Chandler]

That one is pretty Kathy!

[Jeff Fagen]

I too have been practicing bangles for a demo at our club but every time I show them they sell.That mesquite looks great and I like your finish.

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice Kathy! The inlace is a nice touch with the mesquite!

[Paul Williams]

Great looking. I have been adding inlace bands to some of mine, but I think I like the dots better.

[John Keeton]

Kathy, Kathy, Kathy!!! While a beautiful piece, and very well done, I am embarrassed that you continue to ricochet off on these tangents when you still have 196??? bowls to go!!!:eek:;) Stay the course - production, production, production!!!:D

I will say that you have one of the widest array of turning interests I have seen in a while, and you can produce more than most. Keep up the good work!

[Tom Winship]

A very lovely trinket Kathy. I continue to marvel at the difference in color between mesquite from South Texas and from Arizona. Ours is more red versus the brown you have. I like both so it's a good thing.

[Bob Bergstrom]

That will look good on about anyone. Great job and the mesquite is a great wood for it. Thanks for sharing

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks everyone! It was a fun little project and I had enough time to turn another one, but instead of turquoise I inlaid it with black metalic inlace (the turquoise looks better). Maybe when I do another one, I'll take some step by step pics if anyone's interested in trying it.


Hey Kathy, I have some desert ironwood you can have if you want to give that a try. Works really nice for bangles...
Wow! That sounds great Barry! I haven't had a chance to turn any ironwood yet.


Very nice Kathy! The inlace is a nice touch with the mesquite!
Thanks Baxter! There's something about mesquite and turquoise, they just seem to go very well together.


Kathy, Kathy, Kathy!!! While a beautiful piece, and very well done, I am embarrassed that you continue to ricochet off on these tangents when you still have 196??? bowls to go!!!:eek:;) Stay the course - production, production, production!!!:D

I will say that you have one of the widest array of turning interests I have seen in a while, and you can produce more than most. Keep up the good work!
Thanks John! and I hope your happy, you shamed me into coming home from work today and turning 2 more bowls (2 bowls in 2 hours, not bad)! I'm down into the 180's now :D I think I'll set 150 to go as a milestone and take a pic of a box full of 50 bowls!


A very lovely trinket Kathy. I continue to marvel at the difference in color between mesquite from South Texas and from Arizona. Ours is more red versus the brown you have. I like both so it's a good thing.
Thanks Tom! This was from Chilean mesquite, which I have found to vary quite a bit from tree to tree. This one just happens to be a great color! It's got alot of greys and dark browns, as opposed to the reddish or more golden tones. My BIL has a huge Argentine mesquite (about 36" diameter and probably about 35' tall) thats been standing dead about 4 years. He wants to have it milled into boards for a big table, but has promised me the crotches and smaller limbs, if he ever gets around to taking it down. We also get some Texas Honey mesquite, Screwbean mesquite and of course Arizona mesquite, but I haven't aquired any of those yet, Chilean mesquite being the most available.