Couldn't pass up Mulberry @ $3/bd.ft - but what to do with it

[Pete Schupska]

I picked up about 15 bd.ft. of mulberry at $3/ bd.ft; it has a gorgeous yellow, almost iridescent hue to it, is ring porous and moderately dense. It seemed to plane well. I've read that it ages to a more golden brown.very similar to ash in grain pattern, but it is much, much softer. It sands very easily, seems a little prone to readout when planing, and cuts fairly smoothly. It did seem apt to burning, and I swear it smelled like popcorn... Compared to ash, the grain pores are not nearly as deep, or large. Side by side, they are similarly sized to walnut, but just more of them. I worked up a small box today to test it out. Miters were really difficult to keep clean. The groove I cut for the bottom tore out pretty easily. It's gorgeous to look at, but might take some care to work.


Has anyone worked this wood before? I've seen some turnings, but not much more.

http://imgur.com/a/OyTbx

[Ron Kellison]

I have a few boards that I picked up a couple years ago. The yellow definitely ages to a reddish brown. My stock is actually fairly dense. I don't have any ash to compare it with but it's definitely denser than walnut or cherry. It's an interesting wood but it's not something I would search out for a project.

[John TenEyck]

The two front bowls in this photo are red mulberry.

20090407_0010.JPG

That photo was taken right after I made them. Today, about 4 or 5 years later, they are a deep reddish brown. Red mulberry is pretty hard and heavy, it's about the same specific gravity as white ash, and I found it pretty easy to work with, whether turning, sawing, planing, etc. Overall, it's nice stuff to work with.

John