Mulberry???

[Dave C]

Hi All,
I have a friend that is going to drop off some Mulberry. I am wondering if any of you have ever turned pens from it? Also does it keep it's yellow color or will the yellow fade out? If you know any thing good or bad about turning it I would like to hear them .
Thanks,
Dave

 

[melogic]

Dave,
I would be interested as well. I have a couple of logs that a friend gave me and I have not tried it yet. I have started to cut them into blanks but that's about as far as I've made it.

 

[FireWood]

I've made a few bowls out of Mulberry, but no pens - yet. Watch it carefully as it dries - it's very prone to cracking.

That bright yellow color will turn quickly to a dark, rich amber if left in sunlight for any length of time.

HTH,
Dan

 

[bnosie]

I've turned one slimline out of mulberry, it turned rather well. It doesn't retain the bright yellow, it fades to a dull brown with light exposure. I have wondered if finishing or stabilizing with spar urethane would help it retain the yellow, as it is supposed to be one of the best protectants against UV.

 

[ilikewood]

I've turned several pens from Mulberry and it is a beautiful yellow wood. As said by others, it will oxidize to a light brown, so get the finish on it quickly. One hint I would give is use a finish that penetrates a bit like CA or Lacquer. It will keep the air off the surface longer.

 

[Darley]

Hi Dave C, I turn some Muberry pen, very soft wood you have to go easy and in light cut with sharp tool, I use 3/4" skew and only for this wood I do the reverse of pen turning,no good chips all is powdery when you turn it, I go from the center to the edge, when you sander down it as a lots of tiny wholes and tiny blanck stripes or veines but depend as well where the tree grow, when I did turn I was not member of this site so I never did one whith CA finish so I think that with a CA finish the color will stay , mine whose nice and a bright yellow strait from the lathe but lose the colour and turn out yellow grey after 3 day [?] I don't know why oxidation maybe , I will have to try one with the CA finish to see if the colour stay, nice wood to work with , try it and show the result. Remember light cut.

Serge