wood gloat, bowl from mesquite, & a question

[Robert McGowen]

I got a trailer full of mesquite and have it all stacked, but not processed for blanks yet. I was FORCED to go get another load yesterday that is still on the trailer. I got to pick through the wood and almost all of the second load is failry large for mesquite.

I made a small bowl this morning to see what the wood was like and ended up with a bowl 7" across the top, 4" across the bottom, and about 4.5" tall. All 3 pictures are of the same bowl. Sanded to 320, then finished with Watco Danish oil.

Okay, I have to ask. What would be the best way to dry the wood if I was going to cut it up into segments, as in make a segmented turning from it? (I know, it's an illness!) Cut it into oversize strips, then sticker? Cut, then soak in DNA and wrap the ends in paper? Leave in log form and go on vacation for a few years? I have plenty of Anchorseal on hand. What to do? Help!

[Dennis Peacock]

Beautiful....just beautiful. Some folks get a lot of very nice wood. Congrats on the wonderful haul. :D

[Jonathon Spafford]

Oh my goodness... it looks like Paul Bunyan died and left you his logging company! That is a lot of wood... I haven't done a whole lot with wet wood... most of the wood I have I got from someone else and is a good way to being dry. I do have to say that bowl looks beautiful! That contrast between sap- and heartwood is awesome! Great job!

[Roy McQuay]

That is beautiful wood and you made a beautiful bowl. Nice haul.

[Paul Andrews]

We don't live in the same enviorment, but if it were mine I would leave the logs whole and seal the ends well. Stack in a dry cool place off the earthen floor and keep it out of sun light, and it should be fine.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Holy Cow Robert that is one great haul. You are going to be turning for quite some time. Wow.

[Pat Salter]

We don't live in the same enviorment, but if it were mine I would leave the logs whole and seal the ends well. Stack in a dry cool place off the earthen floor and keep it out of sun light, and it should be fine.

I'm with Paul.... to a point. I agree, we don't live in the same enviroment, but if it were mine I'd cut into oversize strips, seal ends and sticker and stack in a dry cool place off the earthen floor and keep it out of sun light, and it should be fine. Is that an echo I hear??? Remember, easier to cut wet wood than dry. Especially since you're going to make a bunch of them seggy things :D (i've got to try that some day)

Ps. I like the color on the bowl but the bottom seems a little heavy. I showed one of my bowls to a longer time turner/teacher and she said, "you need to tighten up your bottom a little", I told her she wasn't supposed to be looking at my bottom and she said "not your bottom, the bowls bottom!" got a smack on the back of the head for that one:rolleyes: She said, bowl bottoms should be 1/3rd of the top (approx) as platters should be 1/2. Just a guideline to watch for.

[Neal Addy]

Wow, Robert! That bowl is fantastic! Really nice work. I just love working with Messkeet. It sure is a pleasure to turn.

Sealing the ends and storing in a dry place (out of the sun) is best. The Texas heat will help you with drying them. You're probably going to get some cracking now matter what. Your biggest problem may be keeping them free from borers. Those little critters love to munch on Mesquite.

Maybe the best thing for you to do is to ship that load to me. I'll take good care of it for ya. :D

[TYLER WOOD]

Easiest thing is to tell me where you live and I'll take a load off your hands. Ya know, just to be neighborly. Great haul, just let me know where you live and I'll come help you process it.

West Texas, I would keep the logs whole and seal the ends with anchor seal. Gulf Coast you could probably put into blank for and seal up. In betwee I think it's a crap shoot. Either way you could win or oose. Just depends on the weather and the wood. Good luck and if you have left overs, I'm just a holler away!

[Matt Haus]

You will want to split the logs and take out the pith. That will preserve from cracking. This stuff cuts best when wet and will wear down your tools fast when dry. Anchor seal the ends and it will preserve. The nice thing about mesquite is that you can turn it from start to finish and it will move very little and won't crack that much - if any. I would CA glue the small cracks you see as you turn it and go ahead and finish the product. I have 5-6 bowls I did from start to finish and didn't DNA soak them, paper bag them or nothing. I just set them in a controlled environment like my mantle. No problems here. I have seen a few with cracks this last weekend in a craft show and they were very striking. I think they were there to begin with before being turned and were left as a feature. I think the guy filled the cracks with epoxy and tourquios and it looked really nice.

4 weeks ago I cut some mesquite down and anchorsealed the ends. It hasn't cracked but I need to split them and get em cut up as I don't want to ruin the good wood. Seems like the pith can have some cracks to start with and the pith seems to (for lack of a good term) rot. Older trees have the most while younger ones will be solid through and through