Originally posted by rtparso
<br />Did you do anything to make the grain show? The Mesquite I have harvested had been monotone.
From experience, it seems like the older trees produce deeper color variations. I also learned that (most) mesquite will turn reddish with prolonged exposure to sunlight...almost like cherry does.
The blanks I sell are mostly from (approximately) 50+ year old trees...one batch I had is actually about 3 feet in diameter, I cannot even guess how old the tree was. That yielded the best blanks I got so far. I jealously set aside a few of the best for myself [}
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Most that I have now are from about 24" diameter trunks. The smaller ones (10" diameter or so) I usually sell for bowl blanks. I will be ripping some root/trunk base area soon and they look very promising. Not sure how much I will get from it but the swirly figure will surely make it interesting.
Look out for old trees...the bigger the better [:I] and BTW, the damaged areas usually produce the best pen blanks too so don't scrap them off right away. Good luck!!!