Big Mesquite

[mesquite buckeye]

Yes,,,, What a beauty !!

Not quite as nice as it looks, as there was a spiral wind fracture running most of the length of it. We cut it in half for loading on Dave's truck. We got some really nice fat lumber out of it, probably 2/3 - 3/4 yield of what we would have gotten if it were perfect. There was also some rot associated with the crack, but fortunately most of it ended up on the junk side of the spiral crack, so both losses were combined in the same part of the log.

You should see the rest of the tree. This was just a side branch blown down last summer. That thing has at least one $2000 log in it. Probably $5000 total lumber in that one. Unfortunately the owner of the land won't cut down a tree unless it is dead or down. By that time there is usually a lot of rot and crack loss. :( :(

[mesquite buckeye]

Got an order for a nice 4" thick by 12+" wide by 6 foot long fireplace mantel for a nice lady in New Mexico. She had very specific desires for the shape and size, which required sending photos back and talking while cutting. Too bad I have to drive 2 miles back to Saguaro Hill to get a signal. arg-smiley arg-smiley arg-smiley

They also wanted the thing peeled. Look what I found when I did that.

 
Pretty neat. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Clean log, easy cutting. ended up with 2 mantel sized pieces and some side lumber.

 
She liked the left edge better, and wanted just 1 live edge, so here it is.

 
That shorter piece to the right is for a couple of associated small shelves.

Another view.

 

Sprayed the sapwood edges up real good to slow any more bug happiness. ;D ;D ;D

I think she will like it. ;D 8) 8) 8)

[mesquite buckeye]

Back cutting for a custom order for neighbors up the river. Had to spend time training him to help at the mill and explaining things about wood, woodworking, bookmatching and that dirt, sand rocks and black glop on saw blades are bad. :(

 

Actually some pretty nice stuff, but little time for photos as the meter was running. We are going to cut more next Friday. I'll see if I can post some of the nicer bookmatches.

The stuff still to cut is on the trailer in the distance.

[mesquite buckeye]

Doing a little custom cutting for the guy up the river. Got this big U log. He learned that big U logs turn hard. ;D

 
Made some pretty bookmatches when we got it done.

 

[pabst79]

Nice looking stuff! The peeled pic from back in Aug 15', is that beetles? I often see the same thing on Norway pine when sheets of bark some off, just curious as to the cause.

[mesquite buckeye]

Those are flathead borers, the larva of a type of longhorned beetle. There are lots of species of these and I'm thinking each of them has a species or group of species they work on.

Whenever I cut down a mesquite during the warm season these beetles swarm the tree within just minutes and start mating and laying eggs. I guess they can smell the stress chemicals volatilizing off the tree. Pretty amazing.

[tule peak timber]

Some inbound mesquite today, a few nice ones.

 

[mesquite buckeye]

Where are those coming from? They look pretty clean.

[tule peak timber]

Another load in this morning. I buy these logs from tree service company's along the Arizona border. Rob

 

[mesquite buckeye]

So likely trees that get some irrigation, since western AZ is so dry. Yards, parks and right of ways?

What's the diameter of the bigger ones?

[tule peak timber]

Yes , all urban lumber. The ones in the pics are 30 ish. My wife wants me to do a TV wall with sculpted mesquite-stay tuned .  Rob

[mesquite buckeye]

Nice thing about town logs is there is usually very little rot in them. Those look like hybrid mesquites from the bark. The wood tends to run just a bit darker than native velvet mesquite.

[tule peak timber]

Yes Russ, no rot at all. I've never seen a wild tree out here but do recognize the difference in other lumbers whether or not they were wild or domesticated. I get Claro walnut from different parts of California and depending on where it was growing there is a lot of difference in wood character. On white walnut, coming out of orchards, huge differences in wood character resulting from cultural practices, soil etc. So much wood, so little time. , Rob

[mesquite buckeye]

Hah. How U ?

 

Finally got a chance to run the mill a bit this weekend. ;D 8) 8) 8)

 
Superdave with his saw. Best guy I ever saw with a chainsaw and has great ideas at the mill too.

 
Run of the mill mesquite.


This log comes from a tree growing about a hundred feet from the mill. Dave has been drooling over it for probably close to 10 years now. Andy wouldn't sell it to him, still growing. Well, last year the tree died along with most of our nearby mesquites. Too much drought, dropping water tables and then flathead borers that finally are taking them out. 

 
Take a close look at that bark and you will see why we were watching that tree.

 
End of the log hints at what is inside.

First cuts

 
Superdave approves.


  

  

  

 

Got these 8/4 bookmatches.

  

 

This last one I call the owl.

 


Some details.

  

  

 

Probably the prettiest mesquite we have cut to date. Somewhere between a one in a couple hundred to one in a thousand trees this good.



 
Two good days of cutting. ;D 8) 8) 8)

All good except for one smashed finger. :(

One thing I forgot to mention. The live edge with the bark popped off looks like it is carved into flowers and scenery. I didn't get a picture but will if I can later.

[tule peak timber]

Yes, VERY tasty ! Nice looking stuff ! Rob

[tule peak timber]

Russ, A mesquite specific design I have been working on for a few weeks. This design takes advantage of the typically narrow slabs coming from the mesquite logs. Let me know what you think. Rob

  

  

 

[mesquite buckeye]

I really like the connecting piece holding the legs together. I also like the top, but...it would be nice if it was rounded at both ends as when you cut the belly off a U shaped log. Don't know if you get those or not. That is my personal preference. I bet lots of people would not mind the asymmetry of a natural slab with a squarish end.

As you see, we like to do a lot of book matches. With a matched pieces 18-22" wide each and 4 to 8 feet long you can get a really nice tabletop.

We try to save some pieces like that for tables like you have made. I don't know the proper name for them. I've heard them called entry or hall tables. The pieces in the tenth photo could be used like that.

[tule peak timber]

This is my prototype, and I am planning to do a mini production run of 10 or so.The leg design is easily adjustable for up, down, length and width, depending on the slab used. I have some logs pulled out that we are going to tip in the mill to get the cut you referred to with natural edge all round for the mini production run. The larger mesquite slabs sell well on their own and I find I get stuck with a lot of the narrower stuff and my problem was what to do with them. So we shall see how this works out. Rob

[mesquite buckeye]

We also get a lot of that type stuff. Sometimes the quickest solution is to trim them up into boards. We save up the shorts for flooring. Now that we are selling wood for countertops (8/4), a lot of the junkier, short stuff can be used in those glueups. No minimum length and we can use stuff that would go into the firewood pile otherwise. We finally get stopped when it costs more to cut out the little stuff than what we can sell it for. If we lived in some little third world country there would be a guy who makes a living cutting out the otherwise uneconomic pieces. :-\

Your log tilting is a good solution, but you end up with more shorts at the end. :(

Take a look at the big fat countertop thread if you haven't seen it already. ;D 8) 8) 8)

[mesquite buckeye]

Back out for 2 days of mesquite and 2 days of saguaros. Started milling up some Superdave logs.

 

Then more U logs. :(

 
At least most of them were not rotten.

We ended up with a decent pile of lumber.

 
Right up until close to half of it got trashed at the trim saw. :( :( :(

Heard a commotion and looked over to see a family of fledging horned owls being attacked by a red tailed hawk and a raven.

 
Mom was a pretty good fighter, as they were all still there the next morning minus mom. Hope she didn't get hurt in the fighting.

 

Got this nice bookmatch.

 

Got a couple other pictures but they are taking forever to load. :(

[mesquite buckeye]

The edge of one of those bookmatched slabs from reply #113

 

[grouch]

Hah. How U ?

 

Finally got a chance to run the mill a bit this weekend. ;D 8) 8) 8)

 
Superdave with his saw. Best guy I ever saw with a chainsaw and has great ideas at the mill too.

 
Run of the mill mesquite.


This log comes from a tree growing about a hundred feet from the mill. Dave has been drooling over it for probably close to 10 years now. Andy wouldn't sell it to him, still growing. Well, last year the tree died along with most of our nearby mesquites. Too much drought, dropping water tables and then flathead borers that finally are taking them out. 

 
Take a close look at that bark and you will see why we were watching that tree.

 
End of the log hints at what is inside.

First cuts

 
Superdave approves.


  

  

  

 

Got these 8/4 bookmatches.

  

 

This last one I call the owl.

 


Some details.

  

  

 

Probably the prettiest mesquite we have cut to date. Somewhere between a one in a couple hundred to one in a thousand trees this good.



 
Two good days of cutting. ;D 8) 8) 8)

All good except for one smashed finger. :(

One thing I forgot to mention. The live edge with the bark popped off looks like it is carved into flowers and scenery. I didn't get a picture but will if I can later.

The boards you got from the tree you were drooling over make me drool and want to go grab my plane. Those are some complex patterns!

[mesquite buckeye]

Up there with the prettiest ones I have cut. ;D