A Better Understanding of Mesquite
What does a Mesquite board look like? Most Mesquite trees grow upwards to about 5 ft. before they take a twist or a turn in growth. You can see a good example of this in the tree at the top of this page. This is, by the way, a photo of old Ft. Phantom Hill, an abandoned Cavalry post north of Abilene. A milled board will have irregular edges. Most of the bark has been removed. Refer to the photo below.

Most boards will have cracks and/or fissures that are caused by the constant high winds during growth. Epoxy can be used on most projects to fill these cracks. We do, occasionally, find clear Mesquite when milling with few if any cracks but must charge a premium for these boards. Guitar makers usually request “clear” lumber.

Thickness: We mill 1 inch up to as thick as the log will allow. The Mesquite boards can be planed down to smaller thicknesses if needed.

Length: We try to get all the length we can out of a Mesquite tree when cutting it down. Boards that are longer than 6 ft. are much harder to come by. Therefore, we charge more for the longer boards.

Width: The width of an average Mesquite board is 6-9 inches.

Edges: We can leave the edges of the Mesquite board natural which some people like to take advantage of in their projects, or we can trim the boards to straight edge.

Sanding: We currently do not offer sanding services.

Planning: We currently do not offer planning services.


Mesquite lumber is perfect for almost any woodworking project. Mesquite is 2 ½ times harder than oak and is dimensionally stable. Most people don’t realize that most mesquite lumber has cracks. These cracks are formed while growing in hot, windy climates. Clear Mesquite without cracks is difficult to come by and is priced at a premium. Very clear Mesquite is usually requested by guitar and gun stock makers.

All of Terry's furniture is built using Mesquite lumber with cracks. See below to read an explanation of how 2 part epoxy is used in Mesquite with beautiful outcomes.


                            How to measure a BOARD FOOT (BF)

12 inches X 12 inches X 1 inch thick = 144 sq. inches or 1 BF

Therefore, if you have a board that is 8 inches wide by 6 inches long and 2 inches thick it would be figured this way:

8 X 60 X 2 = 960

960 ÷ 144 = 6.67 BF

If the price is $8 BF then the cost of that board would be 6.67 X $8 = $53.36

                                       

                       Current Pricing:

Up to 6 ft. in length, $8 BF.

6 – 8 ft. in length, $12 BF.

Over 8 ft. in length, $16 BF.

Perfect or clear pieces - by quote only

END CUTS



SAWMILL