Thanks to some really good neighbors, I got my hands on a nice large mesquite log this weekend. I had been wanting to turning some larger bowls but have had a hard time lately finding some quality wood.

Yesterday I broke out the chainsaw and cut a couple of large bowl blanks from the log. I then prepared one for turning by removing the bark, flattening the top and attaching a 6 inch faceplate. Here I am just beginning to shape the profile of the bowl.

My lathe is 7 inches over center, which means with the headstock parallel to the bed I can only turn a bowl blank that is less than 14 inches in diameter. Fortunately the headstock on my lathe swivels 90 degrees out, which allows me to mount a much larger piece of wood, like the one I’m working on here.

Once I turned the diameter below 14 inches I rotated the headstock back parallel to the lathe bed.

The wood was very wet, so I hollowed it out to about 1 inch thick and set it aside to dry for a few weeks. When it is dry I will turn it down thinner, finish it and post a picture.

Here is one of my latest turnings. This bowl came from a very dry piece of mesquite mistletoe burl. It measures 5.5 inches in diameter x 3.5 inches tall.

What is mesquite mistletoe burl, you might ask?

This beautiful burl is produced when mistletoe attaches itself to a branch of a mesquite tree. The mistletoe draws moisture and nutrients to the place where it attaches and causes the wood to swell up, producing fantastic grain and interesting patterns. This wood is perfect for turning into an attractive and interesting bowl.

I call this wood mistletoe burl, as do most woodworkers who use mesquite. The dark streaks appearing in the wood are the roots of the mistletoe. The grain is always unique in every bowl I turn from these pieces of wood.

Here are a few more examples of bowls I have turned from mistletoe burl.
Bowl #16
Bowl #17
Bowl #30