wood help? can't think of a good title

[nwcatman]

i cut a mesquite limb that a neighbor brought by into bowl size blanks today and realized it was WET WOOD! since i use old " foundwood" all the time i have never dealt with "newwood". i have some ANCHORSEAL coming in but i wasn't able to cut out all the pith in all the pieces and will be awhile before i can turn the blanks. can i/should i coat the surfaces with anything to keep it from drying out in the meantime? i stored the blanks in my shop to keep em out of the sun. THANKS

 

[markgum]

Depends on how hot and dry in your area. How long before your Anchorseal arrives? To be safe I would coat the ends in wax.

 

[penhead]

My bet is that even if you anchorsealed them as soon as you cut them,
that if you left the pith in,
they are gonna crack

 

[marcruby]

I'd rough turn them now, and then stuff them in plastic bags with some shavings. That should keep them damp enough until relief arrives.
Marc

i cut a mesquite limb that a neighbor brought by into bowl size blanks today and realized it was WET WOOD! since i use old " foundwood" all the time i have never dealt with "newwood". i have some ANCHORSEAL coming in but i wasn't able to cut out all the pith in all the pieces and will be awhile before i can turn the blanks. can i/should i coat the surfaces with anything to keep it from drying out in the meantime? i stored the blanks in my shop to keep em out of the sun. THANKS

 

[louisbry]

You can paint them with whatever paint you have available. That works almost as well as anchorseal.

 

[leehljp]

One rare known quality of Mesquite is that it is one of the least shrinking/moving woods around. It will some, but very little as compared to most woods. If you do as suggested above the mesquite should do well.

Here are some links:
http://www.mesquitedoor.com/mesquite.html
http://www.wajocreations.com/descriptions/wood.html
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Mesquite_Lore.html

 

[el_d]

Mesquite doesnt split like other wood does. I will cut the branches off trees, strip them of their bark and leave them out on the porch until I can get to them, somewhere about a couple of weeks. I will see very small amount of checking on the ends. I have even used mesquite that was drying for only a week with good results.....
I usd to spray whatever I had to seal the ends and it held nicely...

 

[MesquiteMan]

According to Texas A&M University, the authority on mesquite, mesquite is the most dimensionally stable Wood in the world. I use a TON of it and have made really nice furniture with it so wet is shows on the surface when I cut it. The joinery is just as nice today as it was when I made it! Pretty awesome wood!

 

[stolicky]

I don't know of many special qualities of Mesquite (I'm not an authority on wood) but I can say that the likelihood of cracking is generally high (almost guaranteed) if you leave the pith in it. If you don't have time to rough turn the wood as recommended above, you could just put it it plastic. I wonder if mesquite will spalt?