Large mesquite avail. for custom blanks, Houston - SOLD

[Greg Crawford]

My sister had a large branch of an old mesquite tree torn out by a strong wind or small tornado on Friday, April 21. The largest section is about 11" with the bark, about 9 1/2" of dark heartwood. Unfortunately, the branch appears to have been twisted, so the growth rings separated and left some circular cracks and straight cracks, so I'll probably lose about 4-6" of the largest part. There is still almost 4' of straight log though. There are about a dozen other good pieces in addition. I will mill some of the wood for projects, but I was wondering if anyone would be interested in getting some large bowl size blanks or some good goblet blanks. If so, I can cut them (chainsaw) to whatever length specified. I also need to know what is best to seal the wood with, as I'm not a wood turner nor have I done this before. It's heavy, so shipping may be expensive, but I'm just wanting to help pay for the gas I used to make the trip to pick up the wood. All advise is welcome, and if you have a request for a piece, make an offer. There are also several crotches and enough for many pen blanks.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Greg, I would love to get some but have no idea of costs. Can you tell me what you would want? I too live in Spring just accross from Strack Farms Barbeque on Louetta

[Frank Fusco]

Great wood gloat there. Too far for me to come but I can admire. The only (IMHO) product for sealing the ends is Anchorseal.
From: U C Coatings https://www.uccoatings.com/
If you order a 5 gal. bucket there is no shipping charge and the cost per gallon is much less. I bought a bucket, used two gal, sold the rest at my cost and was still ahead of buying just two one gal. cans.

[Clem Wixted]

Great wood gloat there. Too far for me to come but I can admire. The only (IMHO) product for sealing the ends is Anchorseal.
From: U C Coatings https://www.uccoatings.com/
If you order a 5 gal. bucket there is no shipping charge and the cost per gallon is much less. I bought a bucket, used two gal, sold the rest at my cost and was still ahead of buying just two one gal. cans.


Frank,

You are as frugal as a Yankee! :)

Clem

[Greg Crawford]

Greg, I would love to get some but have no idea of costs. Can you tell me what you would want? I too live in Spring just accross from Strack Farms Barbeque on Louetta

I have found the following site, http://www.dadwood.com/TurningB.asp that has some larger pieces, 24 x 20 by 4 1/2" for $150. I was thinking more along the lines of $10 per linear foot for the large section if all you want is a slab. If I actually do some milling to produce square or rectangular blanks, I would want a little for my time as well. I don't want to make a killing, I just want to help defray my costs and see the wood put to good use. If that sounds OK, you could come over and and I could cut exactly what you want. For the crotches, I think they may be worth a bit more. I haven't opened them up, so I can't be sure what's in there. I guess that's one of the great things about wood, the treasures found inside.

I can be reached on my cel at 832-465-8421. I live in Northgate Crossing, just South of the Woodlands.

[Greg Crawford]

Great wood gloat there. Too far for me to come but I can admire. The only (IMHO) product for sealing the ends is Anchorseal.
From: U C Coatings https://www.uccoatings.com/
If you order a 5 gal. bucket there is no shipping charge and the cost per gallon is much less. I bought a bucket, used two gal, sold the rest at my cost and was still ahead of buying just two one gal. cans.

Frank,

Thanks for the advice. The logs are in my garage, so they're not in the sun, but the garage can get up to 80 or 85 degrees in the afternoon (it's already summer in Texas). Do you think I should seal the open ends with paint now until the Anchorseal arrives, or will it be OK for a week or so? It was cut on Sunday. If you wanted some pieces small enough to ship UPS, we could work something out.

[Andy Hoyt]

Make 'em free and make a friend. Friend pays shipping, if any.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

The logs are in my garage, so they're not in the sun, but the garage can get up to 80 or 85 degrees in the afternoon (it's already summer in Texas). Do you think I should seal the open ends with paint now until the Anchorseal arrives, or will it be OK for a week or so? It was cut on Sunday. If you wanted some pieces small enough to ship UPS, we could work something out.
Greg, I just cut some Live Oak and Pine this past weekend and put it in my garage. It has already cracked bad. Don't make the same mistake I did.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

I have found the following site, http://www.dadwood.com/TurningB.asp that has some larger pieces, 24 x 20 by 4 1/2" for $150. I was thinking more along the lines of $10 per linear foot for the large section if all you want is a slab. If I actually do some milling to produce square or rectangular blanks, I would want a little for my time as well. I don't want to make a killing, I just want to help defray my costs and see the wood put to good use. If that sounds OK, you could come over and and I could cut exactly what you want. For the crotches, I think they may be worth a bit more. I haven't opened them up, so I can't be sure what's in there. I guess that's one of the great things about wood, the treasures found inside.

I can be reached on my cel at 832-465-8421. I live in Northgate Crossing, just South of the Woodlands.

I'll try to call this weekend. Thanks

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

Mesquite turning blanks usually sell for $12-15 per bf on the net, depending on the size and figure. If this is a straight log, the figure will probably be minimal. Shipping is going to be fairly high due to the density and weight of the wood but should not be too bad if you use Fedex Ground. That is who I use for my mesquite bowl blanks and they seem to be the best price.

The cracks you see are probably NOT from the storm. Mesquite is VERY prone to ring shake and is just part of the character of mesquite. I have cut literally 1,000's of bf of mesquite and it is really rare to get any that does not have cracks.

Mesquite is the most stable wood in the world according to Texas A&M so cracking from drying will not be very bad. I have logs that have been sitting in my log area for 2 years with no end sealer and while they have cracked on the ends, the cracks only run 1" or so deep. You obviously would not want to loose that on each bowl blanks but if you do not have the time to coat the ends of your whole log right now you can always cut off an inch or so and be rid of them.

Hope that helps some.

[Greg Crawford]

Mesquite turning blanks usually sell for $12-15 per bf on the net, depending on the size and figure. If this is a straight log, the figure will probably be minimal. Shipping is going to be fairly high due to the density and weight of the wood but should not be too bad if you use Fedex Ground. That is who I use for my mesquite bowl blanks and they seem to be the best price.

The cracks you see are probably NOT from the storm. Mesquite is VERY prone to ring shake and is just part of the character of mesquite. I have cut literally 1,000's of bf of mesquite and it is really rare to get any that does not have cracks.

Mesquite is the most stable wood in the world according to Texas A&M so cracking from drying will not be very bad. I have logs that have been sitting in my log area for 2 years with no end sealer and while they have cracked on the ends, the cracks only run 1" or so deep. You obviously would not want to loose that on each bowl blanks but if you do not have the time to coat the ends of your whole log right now you can always cut off an inch or so and be rid of them.

Hope that helps some.

That is good info Curtis. Thanks. The piece (about 4 feet long) that was closest to the break has those ring cracks the entire length, plus some cracks go from the center accross the grain outward. The branch had a large scar from a past wound, which is probably why it broke. It had left about 1/4 of the log without bark, and the wound was actually into the heartwood. With that much weakening on one side, the wind and then the twisting that may have occurred when it hit the ground, I thought that was what would have caused the separation between the rings. The section that came right after the 4 footer has the same cracks in the base, but not the top. The end of the wound extends into this section but only about 6". Do you think those cracks may go a long distance into that log? Should I start cutting the blanks from the top end just in case? Thanks again.