Title: Mesquite
Headings: Mesquite
Mesquite
Wood identification
Uses in woodworking
AvailabiIity
Machining methods
Carving comments
Turning tips
Shop-Tested Techniques
Tip of the Day
Crosscut small parts safely

Content: Their efforts have lifted the wood's reputation out of its native land. Wood identification
Seven species of mesquite ( Prosopis glandulosa, P. juliflora, P. pubescens, and others) cover some 54 million acres of Texas, and parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Mexico. Wherever it grows, it's hardy and persistent. In the arid part of its range, you'll see mesquite as more of a shrub than a tree. But in favorable conditions it grows to 50' with a single, but crooked, trunk up to 3' in diameter. Chocolate-colored, furrowed, and scaly bark make mesquite easy to identify. Its wide, spreading canopy made of twisted branches and long, thin leaves may be the only silhouette on an otherwise featureless landscape. Spring through fall, yellowish white flowers appear, followed by bean pods up to 8" long. Sharp thorns are everpresent. The wood of mesquite can vary in color from dark brown with wavy, blackish lines to camel tan.