Mesquite

[Tom]

Grandpa wrote:>Any thoughts on how Mesquite would turn for chess pieces?

It turns great. Tom

Work at your leisure!

[bridger]

it turns nicely.

[Michael Burton]

Richard L. wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Hi Richard, How much 8/4 Mesquite are you needing? I would be very interested in trading with you for some Fiddleback Maple if you are interested. I am one of a few that sells kiln dried mesquite lumber. I have a couple of nice pieces of 8/4 in my shop and a few more in the kiln now, although most of it is 4/4. I will be drying a load of 8/4 next month. I am in the Texas Hill country close to Austin and San Antonio and cut trees off of ranches in the area. I just found six that are 36"+ in diameter this morning that will all be 8/4 stock for rockers, doors & headboards.

[Michael Burton]

Mike Pio wrote in news:h8p2d.93509$yh.39987@fed1read05:

Ya done good Mike, Mesquite is a gem of a hardwood that is undiscovered by most woodworkers. Honey Mesquite is most common in Texas, although in Arizona screwbean mesquite grows as well. It works easily with carbide tools, has a nice smell & it takes and retains crisp clear details from router/shaper & carving knife and polishes up to a gorgeous finish. Sunlight will turn it to a deep rich reddish brown & sometimes almost purple color in a short time (even a few hours will be enough to see a change). The high silica content makes it a little hard on planer/jointer knives. Seeing sparks coming off of my saw blades is not uncomon. :-) It is almost twice as hard as oak with expansion being very low and almost the same in any direction. It is heavy as well, with a specific gravity around .69 to .77 Mesquite finishes beautifully. I have used shellac, BLO/Turps/Tung oil, laquer, and currently use a poly/oil mix that David Marks showed me, when he was in Austin a few months back. All of these finishes work great, but shellac and laquer don't bring out the depth of the wood quite as well as the oil finishes. It does raise a very fine dust when worked, especially when sanded. Some folks are pretty allergic to it because of the extractants(sp?) in the wood, others develop a reaction to it over time. Just use a good filter mask and you will be fine. Be sure to wear crappy clothes when you work it. The sawdust stains something terrible when you get dust on your clothes and you are sweating and since you are in AZ, I would supect you will be doing exactly that. I have ruined many a good t-shirt this way. Hah! When you finish your project, save all your scraps! It is excellent for BBQ and imparts a distinctive flavor in food, just be sure not to use green wood to stoke your fire while the meat is on the pit, yuck. In addition to being a beautiful furniture wood, it works great for fuel, since it puts out more BTU's per pound than any wood known to man. (Don't burn it in your fireplace or in those stamped metal grills. It burns so hot that it will break your firebrick and ruin your grill) My grill is a piece of

20"x.500"wall pipe. There was an effort made sometime in the 80's to try to use it commercially here in Texas for power plant boiler fuel, but harvesting it was cost prohibitive, thank goodness. You would be hard pressed to find a BBQ place in Texas that doesn't use mesquite exclusively. Here in Llano, the three places we have burn 1000-2000 lbs of it a day depending on whether it is a weekend or not. I keep two big plastic garbage cans beside my shop to keep my scraps in.

PS: Warning -- Shameless plug to follow: If anyone wants to see a big collection of mesquite stuff, come to Fredericksburg, Texas October 8, 9, & 10 for the Texas Mesquite Association's annual Spring Show and Sale. Lots of really nice mesquite furniture and artwork will be there. Rough lumber will even be available. I believe seven vendors will have lumber for sale and at least 72 with furniture, art, gun stocks, etc. A blacksmith buddy and I will have three booths there.

[Lowell Holmes]

I'm coming to the show. I recently joined the TMA. I received a packet of newsletters and roster, but no membership card. Will you be selling your 8/4 stock at the show? What lengths will there be available. (Can I haul it in the Tahoe or do I need to bring the F150? I'm looking for rocking chair material. :-)

[patriarch]

Michael Burton wrote in news:Xns956930485272Cmhburtonmomentnet@129.250.170.83:

Y'all have your Spring Show in October?

[My Old Tools]

It's always springtime in Fredericksburg, even when it's 110.

[Michael Burton]

patriarch < wrote in news:Xns95699CE7C9624gmadsencomcastnet@204.127.204.17:

Wow, I guess I was still asleep when I wrote that. Course if you are in Australia, it is the Spring Show ;-)

[Michael Burton]

My Old Tools wrote in news: [e-mail]:

It has been close to it the last few days. Heat index at 105-108. Looks like it will start to cool off Wednesday...about the time I have to leave to go to work at my regular job.

[Conan the Librarian]

various projects by browsing the booths. (Like this lamp:

While there is a fair amount of kitschy stuff there, you find some real artisans. I also ran across a guy who had a slab that was 8/4 by at least 24" and maybe 10' long ... and almost totally clear! I've never seen a piece of mesquite like that. It wasn't for sale, unless you wanted to pay him to make something for you from it. :-)

So, Michael ... do you have any clear 12/4 stock? My stash is almost gone, and I was hoping to get a clear piece to use for a wooden plane body.

Chuck Vance (in Wimberley)

[Jim Wilson]

The large sections we get around here -- I'm in Tucson, AZ -- are also imported from South America, sort of. Virtually all of the large landscaping mesquites are hybrids of South American species, grown in local nurseries.

The South American varieties grow quickly (as much as 40 feet in 7 years). I think because of improper planting and watering, they frequently grow with shallow root systems, having large, long runners that rise above the soil. Such surface roots wreak havoc with nearby walkways and driveways, and these trees often topple in windstorms.

So, (ahem) a "windfall" of quality lumber is truly possible. I've been the beneficiary on a few occasions. However, the landscaping and tree- trimming crews that I know usually sell the large stuff; they don't give it away. Mike's good luck is to be envied.

Jim

[Michael Burton]

Conan the Librarian wrote in news:cimqqb$brq$ [e-mail]:

Nice looking lamp, Chuck. I have been thinking of buying some crushed Turquoise for some future projects from a place in Albuquerque(sp?) I asked the native american jewelry folks use. Its called Rio Grange and they have a huge selection of stuff in their catalog.

[Conan the Librarian]

Thanks, Michael. I stole the idea directly from one of the guys who was showing at the TMA festival. (Except I added the inlaid star.) I even told him what I was planning to do, and he just laughed and said, "Good luck drilling the hole for the pipe". He evidently breaks a lot of bits trying to drill them. I had hoped to see him this year and suggest he might have better luck using a ship's auger bit and a handbrace like I did. :-)

Thanks for the info. When I started on that project I got my turquoise from Craft Supplies, U.S.A.

FWIW, I played around with some different methods for doing the infill, and I got the best results by packing turquoise with epoxy to just below the surface and then coming back and filling the rest of the way with epoxy by itself. The epoxy then acts sort of like a lens and gives a very nice effect. Just a head's up for those who might be playing around with the stuff.

So will you be at the fest all three days? I'm thinking of heading up on Saturday for a while.

Chuck Vance

[Michael Burton]

Conan the Librarian wrote in news:cipqtt$eqc$ [e-mail]:

Yes, We will be there all three days. I will be either at my furnite booth or over at the raw wood sales area selling lumber. Give us a holler.

[P van Rijckevorsel]

Michael Burton schreef

knives. Seeing sparks coming off of my saw blades is not uncommon. :-)

****** Actually, silica content is 0.0000 PvR