Wood Gloat/Input?

[alex grams]

I recently had a nice osage tree blow down a mile or so from the house I was able to harvest from:

I also had a friend from work say he could cut down some mesquite for me from family land south of Abilene when he went dove hunting. I wasn't going to hold my breath, but it was a nice offer. Next thing I know he comes in Monday and says he has some in the back of his truck for me, About 10 pieces from 10-13" diameter, 2' in length cut up. Needless to say, I was more than happy.

The question then becomes about how to deal with the growth ring shake/cracks you can see in the pictures. Any input on how to work around those? I know mesquite has a lot of cracks and is very stable, but should I do anything special about those cracks when turning? I don't think they would be a strength/integrity issue unless I was trying to turn the bowls very very thin, but Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
-Alex

[charlie knighton]

nice haul....its good to have friends......as far as safely turning.....its a crap shoot...... start the lathe up slow....stand out of the way.....increase speed, listen to the way the wood sounds, oil your chuck........do not overload your lathe.......worst thing to happen to me so far is a tool rest broke off, luckly it went 90 degrees from me

[Adrian Anguiano]

Nice one Alex, The Osage piece I took was tiny compared to those, and I could barely get the one I got into my truck. That stuff is beastly heavy. Did it kill your chainsaw blade?

Im curious on the mesquite, my Bill Grumbine video says to throw away shake rings. But that would be hard to throw away. Maybe its time to buy one of those stabilization drums and throw in some turquoise goop to fill the cracks

[Dale Miner]

Nice one Alex, The Osage piece I took was tiny compared to those, and I could barely get the one I got into my truck. That stuff is beastly heavy. Did it kill your chainsaw blade?

Im curious on the mesquite, my Bill Grumbine video says to throw away shake rings. But that would be hard to throw away. Maybe its time to buy one of those stabilization drums and throw in some turquoise goop to fill the cracks

Follow Bill G's advice, dont turn a blank with a shake in it. If you can cut blanks from the log sections that do not include any of the shake, then the blank should be ok to turn. A shake is a total separation of the wood, there is no strength across the separation.

[byron constantine]

Alex,
Mesquite is very stable so you can work turn it green start to finnish without movement,i do it all the time. It looks like you anchor sealed it,but
keep it inside or the worms will get in it they like the sap wood. You can make some nice nat edge bopwls out of those pieces, just slice them lengthway and you have two nice bowl blanks. Mesquite turns great when green. Have fun. Byron

[byron constantine]

Turn that bod'arc green if it is because dry it is hard as steel.

[alex grams]

Don't worry Byron, I've done a bit of bodark bowls and learned my lessons on trying to fully shape a dry bowl. I rough them green and dry them then turn to finish dimensions. They still have some moderate warping from drying, but I've finished a few dry, and while they were doable, you had to keep your tools sharp.

I am going to try chainsawing and splitting one of the mesquite logs this evening so I can try and turn it green and see how it goes.

[Roger Chandler]

On the ring shake mesquite........if you want bowl blanks, then cut down the middle like normal getting the pith out, then cut out the ring shake section which will leave you a more shallow blank.........then mount between centers and cut a tenon on the bark side..........make sure you have a good tenon which to hold the wood, then turn the shallow bowl.

I would carefully inspect each remaining blank for separation and if they exist, then you have a situation where you would be better off cutting up smaller blanks on the bandsaw and use them for small projects............ring shake can be DANGEROUS!!!

You could make hollow form blanks and turn end grain.......making sure you have a very solid tenon which to hold in your chuck then you could hollow out the ring shake.........a careful process with very frequent inspection as you go along is called for..........do not take iffy chances.....not worth a bad injury!!!

[alex grams]

Thanks Roger, I was going to take that approach and split them and then if there was any question on the shake, I was going to cut out the shake and chuck on the bark side and make the bowl open towards the pith. This is why I love the creek and fellow creekers. Save myself a lot of risk and I can learn from others before I learn the hard way myself.

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks Roger, I was going to take that approach and split them and then if there was any question on the shake, I was going to cut out the shake and chuck on the bark side and make the bowl open towards the pith. This is why I love the creek and fellow creekers. Save myself a lot of risk and I can learn from others before I learn the hard way myself.



Good luck with it Alex!

[Dan Hintz]

I would split the mesquite, as normal, but then stabilize them (use vacuum). Once you get the resin in there, it's stronger than the wood will ever be in a non-split piece. Consider color your resin for a unique look, too.

[alex grams]

dan, I have a vacuum bag and pump, but how do you wrap the piece and get full resin penetration without making a complete mess on the inside of your bag?

[David E Keller]

Stabilizing won't fix your ring shake troubles... Stabilizing resin does not fill cracks and voids. Casting with something like alumilite would work, but it's completely different than stabilizing. I'd cut spindle stock out of the blanks with shake. Roger's advice to remove all of the ring shake is sound... No reason to risk an injury.

Nice haul!

[Adrian Anguiano]

A large scale one of these wouldn't work?http://m.woodcraft.com/Catalog/ProductPage2.aspx?id=0&ProdId=42717&

[alex grams]

well the crack had absolutely no integrity, so about the maximum size bowl I can make while working around it is about 5-6" diameter and 2-2.5" height. So I am going to make a lot of nut/key/change bowls! It is a good opportunity to experiment with different feet designs and such though, so that will be fun.

[Dan Hintz]

Stabilizing won't fix your ring shake troubles... Stabilizing resin does not fill cracks and voids. Casting with something like alumilite would work, but it's completely different than stabilizing. I'd cut spindle stock out of the blanks with shake. Roger's advice to remove all of the ring shake is sound... No reason to risk an injury.

Yep, should have been more clear on that one... I was thinking Silmar, since that's what I have on hand. throw in some Pearl-Ex powder and you got yourself some cool looking blanks.

[Harvey M. Taylor]

get some insect killer on that mesquite right now. I just lost about 50 pieces after going 100 miles to get it. It omly took about a week for the bugs to ruin it. As for windshake-- firewood or barbq flavored wood. Max

[alex grams]

I've already sprayed it down Harvey, but thanks for the advice. I turned about 3 small bowls last night from it. I always keep hearing people say turn mesquite green and just finish and let it air dry, but part of me is leery of that. I guess I have to do it and see for myself to believe it, so these 3 bowls will be my proof I suppose.

[alex grams]

A quick follow up question for anyone who may know. I am probably going to rip some spindle blanks about 3"x3" x 12-14" length. Can I treat these the same as bowl blanks and use them green, or do I need to give it more time to dry before using it for spindles? (pepper mills, kitchen utensil handles, etc)

[Adrian Anguiano]

They look great

[David E Keller]

You should be fine using it for handles, but I'd be a bit leery about using it for a peppermill unless you're looking at the single piece designs with crank handles on top. Mesquite is very stable in drying, but it only takes a little bit of movement to goof up a perfectly good peppermill. With that said, I've never tried it... I may be completely wrong about using it green for mills.

[alex grams]

I did a test last night and cut a log in half, and I was able to pop out the center core along the shake by just hitting a chisel a few times into the crack line. It was impressively easy to dislodge. I then mixed up some epoxy and painted both sides of the joint and hammered it back in and clamped it down. I am curious to see how it holds. I am going to chuck to the main piece of wood and turn the center face down first, that way if the joint does fail it will be the small piece falling off the large piece, not the small center piece on the lathe and the main chunk of the bowl going flying. I've got a cage I am going to put over the blank for an extra precaution, but when I cut the square blanks round, I will be able to get a good idea of how well the bond with the epoxy is and if it filled the gap well.

[Mike Cruz]

Alex, I don't mean to be a spoil sport, and I am not the usual overly cautious person on forums, but I'd be a little concerned about your "fix". The wood is wet, right? It is going to move. Eventually, that epoxied line will give way. Unfortunately, that might be while on the lathe! And I can't imagine it would end up being a pretty fix even if it held. Your best bet is to cut it away...