Mulberry is sort of a mystery to me. It is undeniably hard, ranking as the 16th hardest of the North American hardwoods. Given that, it should cut very clean and smooth since, unlike other hard woods such as Hickory, Mulberry is very fine textured and tight grained which usually translates to little sanding. But Mulberry has some really tough spots on the cross grain areas that resemble fiber lift more than tearout, and I wouldn’t expect the Mulberry fibers to lift from such a tight grain and fine texture.
Mulberry Interior
This is by far the biggest Mulberry project I have undertaken and the finished bowl measures 9″ x 2.5″. I was worried about turning the Mulberry because I knew it would be hard and that the cross grain areas would be trouble since I just recently turned a smaller Mulberry dish. It was very fresh in my mind.
The thing is that aside from the end grain lift, which is best removed by locking the lathe and doing some quick focused sanding, Mulberry makes an excellent turning wood. Where it cuts smooth it is very smooth. It has a unique yellowish-green color that is unlike any other wood I have worked with. And it has an incredible natural luster that is even more impressive with a friction polish finish. If you can make your peace with the end grain lift, and if you are patient when working with a wood of this hardness, I think Mulberry deserves your attention. Unfortunately the marketplace tends to be slim in regards to Mulberry but every now and again a hobbyist mill will have some that they sourced from yard and tree services since Mulberry is a common domestic shade tree. If you can find it, give Mulberry a try!
Mulberry Reverse
All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool system on my Robust American Beauty lathe. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck, while reverse chucking was done using a Nova Chuck with Cole Jaws. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks. Final finish is Shellawax.
As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!