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Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite

Posted By: J.G.

Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/18/22 04:38 PM

Buddy of mine has this.

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We made these.

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The Mesquite is 36" or longer. I cut down a tree that the root ball was giving it up. That was between Ballinger and Winters, TX. The Bois d' arc came off my place. I've got quite a bit of both species stacked up, ready to go. They are 5/8" to 1 1/4". This time around we made some 1 1/2", 2", and 2 1/2". There is a Mesquite that is 2 1/2". I'm not normally a wood stock guy, but there will come a day I have a Mesquite rifle stock.

I use Bois d' arc for tool handles. It will never go bad. Mesquite is just beautiful and very durable. Plus all the drops get turned into cooking wood! cheers
Posted By: Simple Searcher

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/18/22 06:14 PM

That is awesome.
My brother has a mill and I love it (it looks like the one above). Having a pile of wood waiting for a project is awesome.
Posted By: unclebubba

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/18/22 06:20 PM

A mesquite rifle stock? Sounds very interesting! How well would mesquite hold up vs. Walnut? I believe that mesquite is harder than walnut, but isn't it more brittle? I'm not a wood expert, but it would seem to me that as wood gets harder, it would be more prone to cracks.
Posted By: SnakeWrangler

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/18/22 06:20 PM

I’d love to have one of those. That Bois D’ Arc looks awesome….
Posted By: J.G.

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/18/22 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by unclebubba
A mesquite rifle stock? Sounds very interesting! How well would mesquite hold up vs. Walnut? I believe that mesquite is harder than walnut, but isn't it more brittle? I'm not a wood expert, but it would seem to me that as wood gets harder, it would be more prone to cracks.


If it cracks, I'll epoxy it back together.

Gotta wait over two years of drying. Then see what we see.
Posted By: unclebubba

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/18/22 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by J.G.
Originally Posted by unclebubba
A mesquite rifle stock? Sounds very interesting! How well would mesquite hold up vs. Walnut? I believe that mesquite is harder than walnut, but isn't it more brittle? I'm not a wood expert, but it would seem to me that as wood gets harder, it would be more prone to cracks.


If it cracks, I'll epoxy it back together.

Gotta wait over two years of drying. Then see what we see.

Good luck. I look forward to seeing this stock 2 years from now!
Posted By: 603Country

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/18/22 09:12 PM

Don’t let the Bois D’Arc planks split on the ends. Paint it with something. It is great for handles, and I turned a bunch of it for handles and mallet heads for friends. The stuff is super tough. Dang shame the yellow color fades and goes to brown.

I did an experiment years ago, in an attempt to find what caused it to go brown and how to keep them yellow. I turned a few bowls and put them in dark rooms. They held the yellow color much longer than any other things I tried, but they still browned. I did not try a UV proof varnish. Should have.
Posted By: J.G.

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/18/22 09:29 PM

I like the brown. Especially with warm boiled linseed oil applied.

I've got two hammers and one adze with bois d' arc handles. Doubt I'll ever replace them again. Hickory? Pfffft, I got something for their Hickory.
Posted By: flintknapper

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/19/22 12:23 AM

Originally Posted by 603Country
Dang shame the yellow color fades and goes to brown.

I did an experiment years ago, in an attempt to find what caused it to go brown and how to keep them yellow. I turned a few bowls and put them in dark rooms. They held the yellow color much longer than any other things I tried, but they still browned. I did not try a UV proof varnish. Should have.


Yep, Osage Orange is a beautiful wood....especially cut against the grain where the growth rings are exposed. But its very Photo Sensitive and UV will turn it from Orange/Yellow to brown pretty quickly.

A good UV sealer like 'Nano-Poly' helps and keeping the item out of the sun will preserve the color for a longer time. This pedestal mount I made for my Brother 10 yrs ago still shows quite a bit of color (with a good light on it). Not as vibrant as when first made, but not bad.

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Posted By: redchevy

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/19/22 12:34 AM

Man that mesquite stock sounds cool. I’ve got a mesquite log that’s been sitting 3 years but it’s got a hollow in it frown
Posted By: 6InARowMakeItGo

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/19/22 02:23 AM

Originally Posted by flintknapper
Originally Posted by 603Country
Dang shame the yellow color fades and goes to brown.

I did an experiment years ago, in an attempt to find what caused it to go brown and how to keep them yellow. I turned a few bowls and put them in dark rooms. They held the yellow color much longer than any other things I tried, but they still browned. I did not try a UV proof varnish. Should have.


Yep, Osage Orange is a beautiful wood....especially cut against the grain where the growth rings are exposed. But its very Photo Sensitive and UV will turn it from Orange/Yellow to brown pretty quickly.

A good UV sealer like 'Nano-Poly' helps and keeping the item out of the sun will preserve the color for a longer time. This pedestal mount I made for my Brother 10 yrs ago still shows quite a bit of color (with a good light on it). Not as vibrant as when first made, but not bad.

[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]


Dude! That is awesome!!!!
Posted By: kmon11

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/20/22 11:23 PM

I have seen some beautiful custom stocks from Mesquite, I know where a few old really big ones were when leasing a place in Callahan county I would love to have for stocks if I could get them.
Posted By: kmon11

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/20/22 11:41 PM

Seal the ends of those mesquite boards can help avoid some seasoning cracking.
Posted By: Paluxy

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/20/22 11:54 PM

If you don't mind borer holes in the mesquite leave it as is, if you don't want holes you need to find a way to kill the powder post beetles. Kiln drying is one option.
Posted By: Simple Searcher

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/21/22 11:40 AM

A solar kiln is good to have. It will get hot enough to kill the bugs and speeds up the drying a lot.
We dried about 3000 board feet for the doors in my brothers house, that kiln was awesome to have.
Posted By: J.G.

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/21/22 11:59 AM

The solar kiln did cross my mind.
Posted By: J.G.

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/28/22 01:17 PM

Closer to being lumber now.

The one piece of Mesquite that's sized for a rifle stock. I might not have what it takes to wait on it. Need to get that kiln investigated. I got a rifle project I want to get to.

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Posted By: SnakeWrangler

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/28/22 01:24 PM

I'd love to have a couple shovel handles made from Bois D' Arc. That lumber looks great.
Posted By: J.G.

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/28/22 02:43 PM

I've got other Bois d' arc that is dried out. Let me see if I have anything thick enough for a shovel handle.

Been milling Bois d' arc for about 15 years.
Posted By: dkershen

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/28/22 05:22 PM

You might reach out to a sawmill to see if they'd let you add your piece to a pile in one of their kilns. Shouldn't charge you much.
Posted By: J.G.

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/28/22 07:21 PM

Yes sir that is a good idea.

I did some reading this morning. A "Fine Wood Working" article on the solar kiln says its safer for the hardwoods that like to check, rather than the traditional kiln. This lumber is a bit precious so I don't want to hurt it.
Posted By: Wytex

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/28/22 07:29 PM

Bois d' arc will twist if not dried correctly. Beautiful lumber in the making though.
Posted By: J.G.

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/28/22 10:10 PM

All I have dried was stickered in the shade, in the wind a year per inch. It didn't move.

Now, try to speed it up in a powered kiln, and I have no doubt.

I learned the hard way on that first run to process it all you can while it's green. Less trouble that way. Get it seasoned and then go to rip it, plane it, and join it and smoke is flowing in the shop. It is some tough stuff!!!
Posted By: skinnerback

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/28/22 10:18 PM

My Grandpa had a Bois D' Arc club he always kept by the front door. Looked just like a cave man club, heavy for it's size. I imagine one good smack in the head with that thing would kill a man, sure wish I had that thing.....
Posted By: jdk1985

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/28/22 10:39 PM

I'm jealous. I wish I had room / funds for a big saw like that.
Posted By: Simple Searcher

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/29/22 01:33 AM

Ah ha!
I found pictures of the kiln that we built.
My brother found this design somewhere. A few things changed along the way and after a few years.
It would peg out a 140 degree thermometer on a warm day.
We have dried thousands of board feet in it.

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Posted By: J.G.

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/29/22 02:07 AM

Something like that.

I need to see if I can build it out of steel and it still work as it should. Frame it with the MIG, then sheet it, all in the shop. Then tote it to where it goes with the skid steer.
Posted By: Wytex

Re: Milled some Bois D' Arc and Mesquite - 11/30/22 07:53 PM

That is sweet Simple Searcher.
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