turning green Mulberry?

I don't know if it is "normal" but the one time that I had some fruitless mulberry, it had the sticky white sap, made a mess and the rough pieces cracked badly, enen though I coated them with wax. Which had me making the statement: I never met a wood I didn't like, then I met mulberry. Firewood may be the best alternative

Kip Powers Rogers, AR

Hi Mac

The Mulberry bleeds white sap, yes that's normal, branches mostly and the cambium some. If you go to my website there are some mulberry turnings in there. I like turning Mulberry, it is related to Osage Orange (bois d'arc or bow wood or bodark) The heartwood is a nice shimmering Yellow and the sapwood almost white, cuts good and finishes nice, however the sapwood shrinks more (a lot) than the heartwood, so you have to keep that in mind when rough turning, really slow down the drying or it will check even the heartwood, (seal it and bag it) or turn it THIN. So for your smallish branches I would go natural edge and thin, CA the bark as soon as done shaping the outside then complete, no coffee break . Chatoyance on the finished bowl, platter, etc. really makes it worthwhile turning wood.

On Thu, 09 Feb 2006 23:06:32 -0500, JoanD'arcRoast

Thanks, Leo.. sounds like my kind of wood, except for the sap...

Is it as messy to turn as it appears to be? Mac

I've used that stuff now and then. I figure if it seals cut ends on live trees, it's got to work well on chopped trees. I've also used it to make an emergency repair to a rain gutter.

Hello Mac,

I like Mulberry for turning, but like so many woods it carries its own unique set of challenges... I don't have any problems with cracking, but then I always boil my Mulberry using my well-known boiling protocol. The sap as you observed, can tend to exude some sticky fluid, but that's a small price to pay to work some nice timber.

Mulberry turns well, but offers a challenge in your abrasive protocol. The softer spring wood is quite a bit less in density than the harder summer wood. This requires an interference pad on the abrasive mandrel of sufficient density to prevent undulations from forming on the wood's surface. Sealing the timber prior to sanding with thin lacquer or shellac, can also help prevent the surface from undulating during sanding. Alternatively, a clear artists sealer/fixative can also help, if you prefer water based solutions.

Alas, the mighty Mulberry looses its vibrant colour over time, unless you add an adjunctive UV inhibitor like a H.A.L.S., or perhaps some T.T.D's to the chosen finish to forestall the ultimate colour degradation. Without adjunctive treatments added to the finishing protocol, it will over time turn a bronze, light brownish colour, that is in and of itself, not unattractive. The timber has very provocative visual qualities as well. It is well worth your time!

I still have many fond memories of the Mulberry that grew in my backyard as I was a small boy... It was fun to climb, made tasty berries that I greedily consumed until I was sick and was as tall as Mt. Everest to a small 5 year old boy... :-) Take care and all the best to you and yours!

thanks, Steve... some good tips that I've saved and sent to the laptop in the shop!

Hi Mac

I never found it more messy than other wood, come to think of it didn't you turn pine ? I would call pine messy, however I never turned small mulberry branches and they might very well be more of a mess than the trunk wood. Still I would say try it, I do like mulberry, good chance you do to.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

yeah, I turn a lot of pine, leo.. not really by choice but because it's mainly what grows here.. *g*

In the spring, the pine had some sap, but mostly water... still finding spots on the walls and ceiling that I misses in the cleanup..lol

The main problem I had with the sap in pine wasn't really drips, just that wherever the shavings hit, they stuck.. especially with end grain stuff... yuk!

The mulberry is on hold in the driveway, I picked up a truckload of pepper yesterday from a neighbor... the tree has been down for quite a while and I want to seal what I'm not going to turn right away and get it stacked...

Pepper seems very strange (to me) because it looks like hardwood but turns almost TOO easily... I have to ride the bevel or I take away too much wood and turn the whole piece into shavings!

It looks like anything turned thin will warp nicely... I'm looking forward to a lot of turning practice... Mac