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Mesquite Bowl Blank M1172 3" x 6" x 8" 4 lbs. Fancy a crotch? No, that's not a pick-up line. This is a beautiful and somewhat unusually crotch bowl blank. The crotch is captuerd in the lower half of the blank, with the branch extending out the back side (the bark side). It's a bit hard to describe, so please see the photos -- there are more than 3 so scroll down to see all. The overall color is the deep reddish brown of Mesquite heartwood surrounded by a thin band of yellow sapwood, with a complete and well-attached dark brown bark on the backside. This half-log bowl blank should be suitable for a bowl 6+" in diameter and 4-5" deep. With the bark on the backside, you have the option of turning a conventional bowl or a "barky" natural-edge bowl. However, if you want a full bark edge on the "natural" rim, you will need to secure the bark with CA glue before and possibly during turning. This is a classic half-log blank, split through the center of the log. It does have some pith in it and has a few cracks developing, despite being well-sealed. Mesquite is fairly dimensionally stable, so the cracks tend not to develop much compared to other woods. For any that are present, I recommend reinforcing them with CA glue prior to turning. This is a GREEN to partially air-dried bowl blank, meaning that it still retains some of its original moisture from when it was a living tree. It has been well-sealed with Anchor Seal and is in the process of slowly drying. It was heat-treated to kill off any hungry critters that may have been burrowing inside. It was measured at 20% MC in July 2022. If you need a current moisture content, please message us and we'll check its status for you. About the Tree This Texas-grown Honey Mesquite tree was harvested in El Campo, Texas in July of 2022. It was cut down by the city for reasons unknown to us, and we were happy to help save the tree from a burn pile. It is possible that this tree was damaged by the Valentine's Day Freeze that Texas suffered in February 2021, which is when our state lost a lot of beautiful trees in an unusually deep and long freeze. |