Fruitless Mulberry

[dalemcginnis]

Has anybody used fruitless mulberry for turning? Either pens or bowls?

I have a lot of wood from a tree I trimmed this winter (January). I've been using it to practice on, learning to use the various tools. But I was wondering if once it was dried it would be any good for making pens or bowls. I have branches up to around 7 inches, but from the way the ends are splitting I'm not sure if there would even be pieces big enough for pen blanks. If the would is usable is there some method I should be using to dry it? Currently it's just sitting in my backyard like a stack of firewood. I'm in no hurry, I can wait for it to dry naturally, just looking for the best method.

 

[Probie]

Greetings, I am not sure about the fruitless kinds of trees; however, it has been my experience that fruit bearing trees... lemon, apricot and others tend to crack. I usually seal with Anchorseal directly after cutting a tree to slow down the process. The are many ways to dry wood... a paper bag and sawdust, microwaveing, kiln and air dried.

On another note... where are you at regionally? Seems we have the same last name.

 

[dalemcginnis]

I live in Highland, Ca. The state, not the glue, though it seems like most people here have been sniffing too much of the glue.[]
My dad was born in Pennsylvania though and came to Ca as a kid.

 

[Ron Mc]

I would seal the cut ends with anchor seal and get it out of the weather for about 12 months. You may also want to cut to blanks now and then seal it.
Either way you should come out with some great blanks.

 

[Randy_]

FM is a fairly soft wood and I have never seen any with any figure or color. Bottom line is it would be like making a pen out of a 2x4 stud.....although I'm sure some have tried. I think your time would be better served if you used more interesting woods unless you just have to have a commemorative pen from the tree in the front yard that blew down in the last storm!![]

 

[clement]

Out my experience I know that all the fruitwood ( cherry, apple, pear a.o ) are very sensitive for splitting. I've tryed a method that seems working good, I cut the logs in two to eliminate the heartwood. Splitting allways begin there because the retraction of the woodfibers. If the logs are very large then I cut in 4 quarters. After a good sealing you can let them dry, out of the weather, but not covered. That's the way i use now.
If you're in hurry for turning it, you could use the microwave also for smaller pieces. The rule is, short times, wait that the wood is cold an then again in the microwave, you repeat this until the wood is dry. The best way to know if the wood iss dry is to weight it after each passage in the microwave.
Hope this will help you,

clem