Prosopis - a.k.a. Mesquite

**Caveman** · 27th July 2007, 11:02 PM

G'day all,
Thought I'd share this piece with you.
I think it turned out quite nice IMO.

I was given the wood about one year back by a neighbour - the farm has had to be sold and they are moving off at the end of this month.
I made this piece to give to them from a tree they planted when they first bought the place way back when. Hope they like it.

About 10" (25cm) by 2.5" (7cm) finished with BLO then beeswax.
Was really nice to turn, but is rather a hard wood.

**Caveman** · 27th July 2007, 11:06 PM

A few more pic's.
This crotch piece had some real nice figuring it.
The rim was undercut by about 10mm.

**DJ’s Timber** · 27th July 2007, 11:27 PM

Very nice Andy

, love the way you have left the natural edges and the form is great

**Caveman** · 27th July 2007, 11:59 PM

Thanks DJ - the bark wouldn't stay on the small areas of N.E. but I reckon it turned out better without.

**TTIT** · 28th July 2007, 12:26 AM

That's one lovely looking bit of work Caveman

. Finish looks great too. If the recipient's don't love that as a souvenir of their time there, there's something seriously wrong with them.
I'm still trying to find some of that Mesquite - there's supposed to be some around but I can't spot it

**joe greiner** · 28th July 2007, 02:27 AM

Well done, Andy. And a beautiful gesture (Beau Geste?) to make a souvenir with such strong connection to their time there. Might I suggest somehow adding your signature, date, and species on the bottom? Common practice among many turners, and would enhance the information value as an heirloom.

Joe

**OGYT** · 28th July 2007, 04:30 AM

Andy, that's a beautiful heirloom... they'll be proud to own it. Good on ya for takin' the time to do it for them!

Vern, Mesquite is considered by most folks around here to be a weed. I planted one in my yard about 8 or 10 years ago, and people thought I was daft. It's a pretty nice Mesquite tree, so I'll get a pic of it sometime today, and post it, so you can have a good example to look for.

**Caveman** · 28th July 2007, 05:01 PM

Thanks guy's for the nice comments

.
I have quite a few more lumps off the same trunk which I look forward to turning into something similar. Have bandsawn them into blanks and waxed the outside - should stop those pesky bugs getting into the sapwood.

Originally Posted by joe greiner

Might I suggest somehow adding your signature, date, and species on the bottom? Common practice among many turners, and would enhance the information value as an heirloom.
Joe

Joe - I unfortunately oiled and waxed the bottom before doing that and I haven't found a permanent way of being able to write on the finish without it being easy to rub off.
Any idea's???

**joe greiner** · 28th July 2007, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by Caveman

Joe - I unfortunately oiled and waxed the bottom before doing that and I haven't found a permanent way of being able to write on the finish without it being easy to rub off.
Any idea's???

Not a whole lot; that's why I added "somehow."

However, Sam Maloof uses a woodburning pen to sign his work. I reckon it would cut through anything. For safety's sake, might be a good idea to wash off the wax (in the legend region only) with a solvent: naphtha, lacquer thinner, DNA, or such. You could re-coat afterwards.

Joe

**scooter** · 30th July 2007, 12:31 AM

Lovely work, Andy, the shape is nice & the grain is terrific

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Prosopis - a.k.a. Mesquite

Thanks for the comments.

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