Kathy's Arizona Mesquite - Lidded Box

[Roger Chandler]

First of all, much appreciation to Kathy Marshall.......a few months ago, she sent me a goodie box and it had among others this piece of mesquite. I have never had the pleasure of turning mesquite until now......thank you Kathy!

She sent this green and sealed with AS, and it moved on me during the turning, but no cracking so far! Finished with WTF [about 5 coats after a seal coat of shellac] and is 4.5 inches wide at the base and 5.5 inches tall to the knob. A similar style to some earlier ones I have done..........have a demo on these this Saturday, and one of the things I need to cover is suction fit lids, so I thought I had better brush up on this or else I would have made a different style, like an inset lid, which is simpler to make and fit.

Comments always welcome!

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[ray hampton]

outstanding design

[Kathy Marshall]

Looks great Roger! I'm on my phone in the shop, watching the rain come down while waiting for ca to set, so the pics are small. Look forward to seeing them on a bigger screen.
I think your demo will be a great success!

[Roger Chandler]

outstanding design

Thanks Ray.........appreciate that!

[Donny Lawson]

Beautiful box.

[Roger Chandler]

Beautiful box.

Thanks Donny!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Roger that is a great looking box. Really love the form on this one.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger that is a great looking box. Really love the form on this one.

Coming from you Bernie........that means a lot!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Looks good Roger! Best of luck with your demo!!

[Roger Chandler]

Looks good Roger! Best of luck with your demo!!

Appreciate it, Steve.

[Jeff Myroup]

Great looking box Roger.

[Roger Chandler]

Great looking box Roger.

Thanks Jeff!

[Roger Chandler]

I mentioned in the original post about this mesquite moving on me while turning........it actually did ...twice! I had to go back and re-true the outside, after hollowing the inside.........and then did a run through the grits and finished it. Anyone ever have mesquite do this with you?

This was my first time turning mesquite, so I did not know the characteristics of it, except I had heard here on SMC that it is a fairly stable wood.

I took a look at this after a little over 24 hrs. since finished to see if any more movement had occurred, especially in light of it moving twice on me while on the lathe.........today, it is just like it came off the lathe.......no more movement........the lid is still a perfect fit, and no ovaling has occurred.............anybody else with a similar experience with mesquite?