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swampgator wrote:My experience of mulberry is that it is very hard. Have cut it with chain saw and bow saw. Great firewood. That's all I know.

That is not good news. I now have a pretty good supply of firewood (that needs to be split) but I don't have a fire place.

dusty wrote:That is not good news. I now have a pretty good supply of firewood (that needs to be split) but I don't have a fire place.

I have turned mulberry and it turned quite nicely. I can see no reason to not use it for a great many things. Mine was air dried and seemed quite stable. A good heavy fairly hard wood.
What I turned from was some blocks I had saved back when cutting firewood at our mini-farm over in the next county maybe 30 years ago. I made some candle holders from the blocks after it air dried a year or two. It was from a pretty old mulberry that had sat behind the house there. My father's family had lived there before he was born but a couple of his older sisters had lived there as young girls and had always held fond memories of the place so I turned the candle holders for them as Christmas gifts for them. They were quite elderly then and have been gone many years now but they really were thrilled about those simple candle holders from a tree they had played in as girls. I was told that they were constantly showing them to friends. Neither of them left any descendants and we ended up with a lot of their things including those simple candle holders. I have them in a box around here somewhere...


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dusty wrote:That is not good news. I now have a pretty good supply of firewood (that needs to be split) but I don't have a fire place.

Rob can use it!;)

I have done a little bit of the unloading but my old body screamed out that there was another day; so I quit before I had to.

The trip was by no means a loss. I spent some time with my SIL, daughter and SIL's brother. Should have been there earlier (by days) but I wasn't.

Here are a couple pictures of what I pickup out of the remains:

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This part of the gloat shall be a reminder to not allow yourself to get greedy. I really do wish I had not drug this stuff home. I doubt that I will ever use it.

It is Mulberry, Very Heavy Mulberry. It is all rough cut about 2" thick.:

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Dusty,

Your right all of that stuff if simply garbage and I will help you out by coming from Michigan to Arizona in my truck and taking off your hands. Just stack it all out front before I get there. Be sure to put the clamps and rack behind the wood so I can place it on top

Seriously though, I think the Mulberry actually looks pretty interesting and would make some pretty neat projects. They are nice big slabs.

[quote="jcraigie"]Dusty,

Your right all of that stuff if simply garbage and I will help you out by coming from Michigan to Arizona in my truck and taking off your hands.]


Hmmmm! Been thinking of cutting down one of 'them'!:p

I'd say the 30-odd bar clamps made the trip worth the while. And the planks would make some really nice platters or furniture. If it's kiln dried or at least down to 6-8% moisture content, cut it into blanks and Ebay it. Send me a blank first so I can test it for you. Thanks.

I'll not burn the Mulberry because I don't have a fire place. I will attempt to mill at least one piece. It looks like it might be very interesting grain pattern. I plan to put one of the larger pieces out under one of my larger Mesquite trees as a bench.

During the spring and summer I sit out there in the early morning to watch and listen to nature wake up. I really enjoy listening to the quail communicate with one another. That slab of Mulberry should make a good seat.

I doubt that it was kiln dried and I don't know where it originated. Is there Mulberry in Arizona - I don't know. Will have to do some research. Guess I could ask Paul.

The clamps were actually a purchase but they were inexpensive. The retail price on the rack alone easily covers the cost making the clamps basically free.

An added mulberry note... It will darken a lot in the light after you work it.
It will work kind of yellow then turn to a soft brown. At least it does here.


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