A neighbor brought me a couple of fresh cut mulberry branches yesterday... 5 or
6' long, 6 or 8" diameter...
I made a sample cut in one piece and it dripped white sap that looked like a
damn rubber tree.... is this normal?

Do I try to turn it like that, dry it a bit, cut and seal it and store it,
season it for firewood??

Any advice appreciated...
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

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

In article , mac davis
wrote:

A neighbor brought me a couple of fresh cut mulberry branches yesterday... 5
or
6' long, 6 or 8" diameter...
I made a sample cut in one piece and it dripped white sap that looked like a
damn rubber tree.... is this normal?

Do I try to turn it like that, dry it a bit, cut and seal it and store it,
season it for firewood??

Any advice appreciated...
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

If it's the dense, bright yellow wood -- turn it.
If the pale, greyish off-white wood -- burn it.

-j

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
G.
Chatoyance on the finished bowl, platter, etc. really makes it
worthwhile turning wood.

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum26.html

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

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

In article , mac davis
wrote:

A neighbor brought me a couple of fresh cut mulberry branches yesterday... 5
or
6' long, 6 or 8" diameter...
I made a sample cut in one piece and it dripped white sap that looked like a
damn rubber tree.... is this normal?

Do I try to turn it like that, dry it a bit, cut and seal it and store it,
season it for firewood??

Any advice appreciated...
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

If it's the dense, bright yellow wood -- turn it.
If the pale, greyish off-white wood -- burn it.

-j

Seems to be white with yellowish heart...
I didn't cut all the way through because of the sap in combination with the new
blade I'd just put on the band saw.. *g*

(The ends were sealed black, like a gardener had cut them)
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

On 9 Feb 2006 21:20:54 -0800, "
wrote:

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
G.
Chatoyance on the finished bowl, platter, etc. really makes it
worthwhile turning wood.

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum26.html

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

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

Is it as messy to turn as it appears to be?
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

mac davis wrote:

(The ends were sealed black, like a gardener had cut them)


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!


On 2/9/06 10:26 AM, in article ,
"mac davis" wrote:

A neighbor brought me a couple of fresh cut mulberry branches yesterday... 5
or
6' long, 6 or 8" diameter...
I made a sample cut in one piece and it dripped white sap that looked like a
damn rubber tree.... is this normal?

Do I try to turn it like that, dry it a bit, cut and seal it and store it,
season it for firewood??

Any advice appreciated...
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

--
Better Woodturning and Finishing Through Chemistry...

Steven D. Russell
Eurowood Werks Woodturning Studio, The Woodlands, Texas
Machinery, Tool and Product Testing for the Woodworking and Woodturning
Industries

³Woodturning with Steven D. Russell²
Volume #1 CD ROM e-Book * Available for Shipment
Volume #2 CD ROM e-Book/DVD Video * Available for Shipment
Volume #3 Double DVD Video on Bowl Turning * Available for Shipment

On Wed, 15 Feb 2006 14:25:50 GMT, Steve Russell
wrote:

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

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!


On 2/9/06 10:26 AM, in article ,
"mac davis" wrote:

A neighbor brought me a couple of fresh cut mulberry branches yesterday... 5
or
6' long, 6 or 8" diameter...
I made a sample cut in one piece and it dripped white sap that looked like a
damn rubber tree.... is this normal?

Do I try to turn it like that, dry it a bit, cut and seal it and store it,
season it for firewood??

Any advice appreciated...
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

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

On 15 Feb 2006 17:44:30 -0800, "
wrote:

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

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm