Hello,

I have turned quite a bit of Mulberry and like it... It looses its yellow
colour over time and turns a golden/brownish colour. It is well behaved in
my experience (I prefer to boil it when roughing it out) with few
challenges. One of the things that rears its head comes when sanding... The
summer and spring wood densities feature a large disparity and thus, can
create sanding difficulties if proper protocols are not observed.

If you're careful when power and hand sanding by using a firmer foam backing
pad, you should be ok. Less dense pads can create a washboard effect on the
surface, not entirely undesirable if you're trying for an artistic piece,
but a nightmare if you're not after this effect. Another challenge can
manifest itself with wild grain areas like crotch feather... It can be a wee
bit ill-behaved when working these areas with a gouge, so you must endeavour
to keep a freshly sharpened gouge and use light cuts to obtain the proper
cut.

All in all, a magnificent timber when you sum it all up. Although others
report drying difficulties with this species, I find none when it is boiled
according to my standard boiling protocols. If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to contact me. Take care and all the best to you and
yours!


On 7/27/05 4:22 AM, in article , "Copernicus
Skygazer" wrote:


A friend has had a large, 30+ year old mulberry tree fall down during a
recent storm, and I'll be there tomorrow with a couple of jugs of
anchorseal.

How is mulberry for turning? Any things to look for? Oh, and what is the
best way to handle green wood for bowl/cup/mug turning? I remember some
folks posting URL's for some sites with good advice.

Thank you again,
Phil

--
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Eurowood Werks Woodturning Studio
The Woodlands, Texas

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