I found a mimosa treasure. Need some advice please.

[Cody Armstrong]

A few days ago I was driving along and spotted where someone was doing a bit of clearing. There were a few logs laying on the ground and I noticed one had much darker heartwood so I stopped to take a closer look.
It turned out to be a decent sized mimosa around 13-14" in dia. at the butt end. I became excited and grabbed one of the smaller pieces that was small enough to man-handle into the truck.
Got it to the shop and rough turned a couple of bowls and was very impressed. I returned with a chainsaw and gathered what was left of the tree.

I've searched and read nearly every thread on mimosa. I see it can affect folks that are sensitive. So I know to wear protection when working/sanding this beautiful wood.
I think I've read nearly all the threads on anchorseal and I'm still not sure what to do. I don't want to screw this wood up as it may be the biggest mimosa I ever get my hands on.

It seems to be a toss up on whether to seal the whole bowl or just the end-grain. I know there are a lot of variables that come to play when choosing what to do.

What I think I should do is: rough the bowl, pack in shavings for 2-3 days to let some moisture escape, coat the whole bowl with anchorseal and store in cardboard box until dry.

What would be your plan of attack for this?

Cody

[Doug W Swanson]

I've never worked with Mimosa but when I rough turn here's my process:

Rough turn to 1-1.25"
Anchor seal at least the end grain (usually the whole bowl)
Toss on a shelf
Wait for a few months
Turn into a bowl

I've never bothered with storing in shavings, cardboard boxes, paper bags, etc and had pretty good luck with this method,.

[Dan Hintz]

Don't know much (anything?) about Mimosa, but for most woods painting the end grain is all that's necessary. For really large-pore woods I would paint all over...

A quick check shows Mimosa is a relatively dense wood, so I would paint the end grain and let it sit like any other typical blank.

[Jim Underwood]

I always rough thickness to 10% of diameter, then wrap with newspapers, and let it sit for 6 months to a year. (Most of my roughouts are several years old now though.)
You'll have better luck if you don't leave any sharp edges to dry out quickly.

[Reed Gray]

I don't turn it any more because I am sensitive to it. For sure when green, and maybe when dry. It is pretty stable when drying, with little movement and cracking. Colors can be really nice, but it feels too light weight when dry unless it is turned thicker than normal. If you are going to turn it in the next month or so, then don't worry about sealing log sections. If it will be a while, saw the logs in half, down the pith, and seal the end grain. I don't use the shaving method for drying. Sealing the end grain at least, or wrapping the outside with plastic stretch wrap can do a fair job. You do want any blanks in a cool place, and out of any wind, heat, or sun light.

robo hippy

[Cody Armstrong]

I guess I'll seal the whole bowl/s rather than just the end grain(unless someone opposes). I'm in no hurry for these to dry.
I think I'm gonna take ya'lls cue and not fool with the shavings anymore. I guess it's not necessary if a sealer or plastic is used. They are a mess anyway. Got anchorseal ordered :)

Thanks for all the responses. And thanks Reed I was hoping to get a reply from someone that has worked Mimosa before.

[Thomas Canfield]

I got some large Mimosa about 6 months ago and largest was about 20" D but only 14"L so I cut it into 3 wedges, and turned 14" NE bowls. The wood was green with also some dead wood. You do need to cut out the pith, and I would recommend cutting at least 15% of D and possibly more to end up with some spindle or end grain material from the slabs when the pith is cut out of the slabs. If you cut wedges, then you only need to cut off a triangular section of pith and that ends up being the tenon area for a NE bowl. The Mimosa seemed to dry fairly fast even with anchor seal. I did find that the wood is somewhat stringy and a sharp tool is needed even for the green wood to avoid tear out. I have finished some pieces, sanding to 400 grit, buffing with Tripoli, and then multiple coats of a oil/poly mix, each coat followed by Tripoli buff before next coat, or final Renaissance wax. The grain really comes alive with the buffing and oil. I did not have a problem about sensitivity, but a friend did with some wood I gave him. Good luck. I would definitely pick up more if available.

[Dennis Ford]

Mimosa is fairly easy to dry, sealing the whole bowl should work great, no need to seal it AND bag it. It is somewhat stringy when dry as Thomas mentioned. It is almost as stable as mesquite and can be turned to finish thickness with only a little warping. Beautiful wood but I am sensitive to it and will not turn it any more.

[Cody Armstrong]

Thomas, the buffing process your describing is it what is used with the Beall set up? Is there a good book that describes the process step by step and other finishing on a lathe?
What few bowls I've turned I've only sprayed with lacquer from a can.

[Thomas Canfield]

Thomas, the buffing process your describing is it what is used with the Beall set up? Is there a good book that describes the process step by step and other finishing on a lathe?
What few bowls I've turned I've only sprayed with lacquer from a can.

Cody,

I got the process from Elmer Adams after I visited the Big Island, Hawaii, about 5 years back, and Elmer died soon after that. I use Don Pencil buffing wheels and adapter but started out with the 3 on 1 Beale system which is useless for bowls of any size since you run into the adjacent wheels or the wheels are too large to do the insides. I have made several smaller diameter buffing wheels to do the inside of smaller pieces. I have the 1"thread 8" for mini lathe and both 8" and 12" long 1-1/4" thread adapters for my Powermatic. I am not sure you can get the 12" adapter still, but it works much better for the 16"+D pieces. The oil/poly works for me but it is time consuming and bet done with multiple pieces to best utilize time.

[Cody Armstrong]

Thought it would be courteous to show what I got out of the mimosa. While glue dried on my other project I finished off the mimosa log.
Here's a few rough turned. I desperately need to invest in some tools. This was some stringy wood to turn. I used a 1/2" round nosed scraper and another 1 1//4" scraper made from on old file.
I used a 1/2" skew and scraper to make the recesses on the bottoms. The largest bowl is ~13" dia.
281171
I also had some beech. The largest of these is ~13" dia.
281172

[robert baccus]

Very pretty bowls on both woods. Mimosa is one of my faves but the dust is almost dangerous. Green it turns very well usually and can be turned to almost final size. Stringy and dusty on the outside--be careful. I find a light Danish oil and a film finish pops the color well.

[Thomas Canfield]

Looking good It looks like you got your work ahead of you in a few months. Nice variety of shapes to finish.

[Cody Armstrong]

Yes. I definitely do have my work cut out for me when the time comes. :)

A few folks have commented about how their sensitive to mimosa but have not elaborated on the effects or issues it causes them. I take it it is mainly the dust from sanding and not while working it green?
I usually wear a respirator when sanding but no other protection.

[Reed Gray]

Well, the sensitivity to the Mimosa is from the wood itself, and not the dust. I turn wet, and felt some respiratory congestion. I don't know if it was just the smell or what, but I will not turn it again. I did not get any skin rashes, which some people have. I would guess this would be more of a problem if you are very sensitive to it, and especially if you are sweating. Woods like Cocobolo only require skin contact for a reaction (there are 2 kinds of turners, those who are allergic to cocobolo, and those who will become allergic to cocobolo). With continued exposure, you may start to react. Note here, when I sand, I have a hood over almost the entire piece, and no dust escapes (You Tube clip on sanding hood under robo hippy).

robo hippy

[Thomas Canfield]

Cody, I did not have any problem turning green, re-turning, or sanding on the pieces (about 10) that I did. I cannot turn the Rosewood family woods due to allergic reaction similar to Poison Ivy with minimal contact, as little as cutting a pen blank on the bandsaw. I do recommend a good dust mask as a precaution and a dust collector when sanding. I still have some rough pieces to return and finish and plan to be cautious.

[Cody Armstrong]

Thanks gentlemen for the advice and info. Reed thanks for the mention of the sanding hood vid, I watched it. Nice setup.