Suggestions for platter

[Wade Holloway]

I have been given a large cross piece of Mesquite about 2.5 inches thick. Thought it would make a really nice platter. My problem is what to do with the pith. I have it coated with Anchorseal for now. Are there any tricks to do to keep the pith from cracking my piece? Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Dave Kelley]

Wade, you will struggle with this in mesquite. I live in Arizona and have bunches of it. Fantastic wood but it cracks, even most of the live edge mesquite slabs used for tables have issues that often get filled with turquoise, brass or copper. Mesquite has intertwined grain, not normal to regular walnut or maple as you might know. The anchorseal is a good start but I would start thinking about ways to handle the cracking if/when it happens. I still think you have a good opportunity for an awesome platter, you will just have to likely pull out the epoxy on it at some point. The bright side of mesquite is it doesn't move once dry. It is probably the most stable wood you will come across.

[John K Jordan]

I have been given a large cross piece of Mesquite about 2.5 inches thick....

Just how big?

I dislike dealing with the problems of pith. Is the piece big enough to make 2 or 4 things with no pith? Also, I do a lot of spindle turning so another option for me would be to cut it into 2.5" square.

JKJ

[Wade Holloway]

Thanks for the info Dave this is pretty much what I was afraid off. At this point I am not sure if it would be better to go ahead and turn the platter or wait a while and let it sit for a few months before turning it.

John it is about 24 inches wide. I have plenty of small stuff and I think it would be a shame to cut this piece up. I could do a few smaller plates, but then how many people have a 24 inch mesquite platter sitting on their table :)

[John K Jordan]

...John it is about 24 inches wide. I have plenty of small stuff and I think it would be a shame to cut this piece up. I could do a few smaller plates, but then how many people have a 24 inch mesquite platter sitting on their table :)

That size does sound intriguing! I guess it all depends on the how it held up during the drying and movement. A beautifully turned 24" platter with big cracks down the middle would be so depressing to me! But I do wonder how many people would have room or a use for a platter that big, except maybe for show. I made some 16" and 18" platters and even the 18" only occasionally finds use here.

I don't have any mesquite big enough, but if I did I might make another one of these. I've made them from a variety of other woods and usually give them for wedding presents and such. The size is not that impressive (9-10" across) but the utility is high.

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JKJ

[Wade Holloway]

Beautiful job on those, they look great. Something alongoing those lines is what I am wanting to do if I can keep the pith from screwing it up.

[robert baccus]

it really is considered the most stable wood in the world. It will usually not move while drying. I would consider applying epoxy(dyed?) now --any endseal/wax applied now will ruin the hold of the epoxy. Also it will cut much better than bone dry. Old Forester

[John K Jordan]

it really is considered the most stable wood in the world....

I haven't heard that statement but a little looking around came up with charts like this:

344212
http://www.rempros.com/hardwood_dimentional_stability.html

From turning mesquite myself I can believe it.

Is it also very stable around the pith? Perhaps that depends on growing conditions? I know the juvenile wood around the pith in some other species reacts quite differently from the later heartwood. I have a few log sections of mesquite I might use differently if I knew I could leave the pith without a problem. I've always cut out the pith.

And another question about stability: what is it like turned wet? I assume the rating is for dry wood and that's all I've personally turned. I see the Wood Database lists the T/R ratio for Honey Mesquite at 2.0, similar to ash, oak, holly, etc., which indicates that turned wet it might distort significantly. But perhaps the T/R ratio given is a average, different with specific trees.

JKJ

[robert baccus]

My experience with mesquite is that it moves little if any when cut wet. I have friend that cut more than I and they relate the same. But--it is wood.