How to prepare this blank? PIC

[Steve Mathews]

I've never prepared a blank with a branch coming out of it, let alone 3 of them. Any ideas on how to approach this Mesquite log? The ends were treated with wax after being freshly cut but I didn't take care enough to store it properly hence the severe cracks.
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[John K Jordan]

Had a fairly large walnut 3-way crotch recently. I cut it between the limbs into mostly 3x3 blanks for boxes. Beautiful figure, going in all directions - I had to seal all six sides to seal the end grain.

Hard to tell from the picture but the mesquite looks like it might be too small for that. Also, wood cracked that much would be firewood here. If you wanted to try to get something out of it maybe trim back all the limbs and if the piths are tight and mount and turn the triple crotch. Or cut the whole thing up into small spindle or pen blanks.

Just what I would do. Others are probably more creative.

JKJ

[Steve Mathews]

Had a fairly large walnut 3-way crotch recently. I cut it between the limbs into mostly 3x3 blanks for boxes. Beautiful figure, going in all directions - I had to seal all six sides to seal the end grain.

Hard to tell from the picture but the mesquite looks like it might be too small for that. Also, wood cracked that much would be firewood here. If you wanted to try to get something out of it maybe trim back all the limbs and if the piths are tight and mount and turn the triple crotch. Or cut the whole thing up into small spindle or pen blanks.

Just what I would do. Others are probably more creative.

JKJ

Thanks John! Wood here in NW Arizona is scarce so I try to make the best of what's available. I had to cut about 4" off each end of another log from this tree before finding no cracks. The 2 rough turned bowls I got from it looked nice with a lot of color variation. I also got 2 quartersawn pieces from it after the pith was cut out. This was one of my first attempts at getting some useful wood from urban harvesting, a very satisfying effort. I'll trim the ends off this log to see how much useful wood I can get out of it. I was hoping to get a bowl blank from the side of the log where the branches come together to see what the figuring looks like.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks John! Wood here in NW Arizona is scarce so I try to make the best of what's available. ... I was hoping to get a bowl blank from the side of the log where the branches come together to see what the figuring looks like.

Could be worth a try.

But as for wood: Take a road trip. Fill your truck with wood, drive home, cut blanks, seal and let dry. Most hardwood in this part of the country ends up feeding the termites. I can point to at least 10 trees within a mile that were cut down by the utility people in the last few weeks, they are usually glad when someone some - less work for them to clean up. (BTW, I know a woodturner who moved to TN from the desert for several reasons, one was the unlimited access to free wood.)

JKJ

[Robert Hayward]

Could be worth a try.
Most hardwood in this part of the country ends up feeding the termites. I can point to at least 10 trees within a mile that were cut down by the utility people in the last few weeks,

JKJ

I spent a few months in Cookeville, TN a few years ago. One of the locals was burning black walnut in his wood stove !

[John K Jordan]

I spent a few months in Cookeville, TN a few years ago. One of the locals was burning black walnut in his wood stove !

Walnut, cherry, american ebony (persimmon), sassafras, oak, hickory, bradford pear, honey locust, osage orange, mulberry, dogwood, holly, ambrosia maple, crotches, burls - I can testify they all make great firewood. People who use hardwoods only for heat don't discriminate. Turners who heat with wood seldom even look at it.

I can't imagine how much highly figured wood ends up in smoke. I was splitting firewood once and set this chunk of white oak aside when I noticed curl in the grain:

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Living in the Hardwood Belt we get so spoiled with free wood I'm sorry to say we often forget to appreciate it.

JKJ

[Alex Zeller]

It's actually the main reason why I'm getting into turning. We burn lots of wood around here. Red maple almost never sees anything but the inside of a wood stove. I've had found far too much curly maple with the wood splitter. I don't have all of the varieties that John has in TN but we still have lots. Sugar maple, ash, oak, cherry, birch, and beech are very common around here. Steve, my advise is to cut it up. Even if it turns out to be too checked to use it'll still give you the chance to pick a way to cut it and see how it looks.

[Steve Mathews]

Chalk marks show where I intended to cut the log. The intention was to align the cut along 2 of the branches and the main pith. Fortunately the end cracks didn't migrate too deep. On the lower left split section I was thinking of getting a bowl blank incorporating the figuring caused by the branches. I might also get a small bowl further to the right. The split section on the lower right pic may not be useful because it contains most of the main pith. Any suggestions or ideas before proceeding to the bandsaw would be appreciated.
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