About 4 or 5 years ago, my brother was living in Austin, TX. I took my family and we spend a nice Christmas there. Texas is quite beautiful and we saw many things. While there, I went to Woodcraft near Austin. I picked up about some mesquite wood and planned to build a Paul Sellers clock out of it. I have built about 5 or 6 of these clocks in the past and like them. They make great gifts. Plus, since it is my doing the same piece over and over, I get to see how my skill has evolved over time. The mesquite would add a nice touch and be great way to remember my Christmas holiday trip to my brother.
The clock finally made it to the top of the list. I was excited as I have never worked with mesquite before. I mostly work in cherry (I like the way it looks) but I really enjoy trying different woods. Part of what makes woodworking fun is experiencing the uniqueness of different woods.
Mesquite did not disappoint. It is really hard stuff and must dull my irons a factor of 5 or 10 more quickly than cherry. I just sharpened more frequently. Despite being so hard, it is also brittle. Needless to say, I pressed on. The fragrance of mesquite is amazing. In fact, I saved all the shavings and gave them to my nephew as he is a huge bbq'er. I am sure this will be much more fragrant than the mesquite you buy at the store.
I finished it with blond shellac and the wood took on a lovely color. As best I can tell, the wood will darken over time. This will be nice,
The wood was not without it's challenges. I found working against the grain (as happened for some of the grooves) resulted in some big tear out unlike I've seen with other woods. Superglue was very helpful. This won't be my last Paul Seller's clock. Christmas is coming up and I might make a few more for family. However, I will make them out of something softer such as walnut. That's a really nice wood to work with hand tools. In fact, a few clocks ago, I made some plywood templates for the Paul Seller's clock. That makes it even more fun when I build it as there is less measuring and more direct marking. It takes me about 20 hours to make a clock out of cherry. The mesquite clock took about 23 hours. Curious to see how long it takes to make one out of relatively soft walnut.
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