# Tortured Mulberry Part II Back to the Dungeon



## barry richardson

Lots of mulberry available around here, but I find it kinda uninteresting, so I have been experimenting with it. First I sandblasted it, then torched it to bring out the growth rings even more, then wiped it down with vinegar/steelwool solution. I found that it is very reactive to the solution, it darkened it so fast it was hard to control and got way too dark and splotchy, had to sand it back down cause it was all dark mud brown, almost black on the endgrain. If I do it again I will put the solution in a spray bottle and mist it on, hopefully I will have better control that way. In the end it looks kinda weird and splotchy, but kinda cool.... about a foot tall

Reactions: Like 4 | EyeCandy! 8 | Way Cool 24


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## Tony

Dude, that is incredibly cool looking!!!!! Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1 | Sincere 1


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## Mike1950

Very nice- I like it

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Jim Beam

Beautiful wood and a great form. Nicely done!

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Salt4wa

Waaahhh! I've got some mulberry that has been laying around for about 5 or 6 years. I'm going to have to try this. Thanks for posting.

Reactions: Like 1


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## gman2431

Turned out very cool for mulberry!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## woodman6415

Awesome

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Ray D

Fantastic

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## DKMD

That's a cool look! I've never tried the WTD on mulberry, so it's good to know that it reacts strongly. Might be a good choice for liming wax on a future form after the darkening solution.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Nubsnstubs

Uninteresting or not, it's a beautiful piece of wood and the execution went well. 

Is that a Palo Verde in the right background?........... Jerry (in Tucson)


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## cabomhn

I would say that's a "win" there. Looks really cool

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Mike Hill

Well done... well done!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Spinartist

I agree with all above . What THEY SAID!!!

I bet it didn't even turn your tongue purple!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Blueglass

I think it looks incredible.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## barry richardson

DKMD said:


> That's a cool look! I've never tried the WTD on mulberry, so it's good to know that it reacts strongly. Might be a good choice for liming wax on a future form after the darkening solution.


Thanks, what does WTD stand for?


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## barry richardson

Nubsnstubs said:


> Uninteresting or not, it's a beautiful piece of wood and the execution went well.
> 
> Is that a Palo Verde in the right background?........... Jerry (in Tucson)


Thanks Jerry , I had to go look, its my neighbors yard, no palo verde, but a big mesquite in the middle of the pic...


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## rocky1

Weird and splotchy works! In fact, it works really nice!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## DKMD

barry richardson said:


> Thanks, what does WTD stand for?



Woodturners Douche...

Reactions: Funny 6


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## robert flynt

Beautiful as usual Barry!!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## barry richardson

DKMD said:


> Woodturners Douche...


We need to add that to our list of acronyms

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2 | Funny 1


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## ripjack13

Wow Barry, that looks great. I love it! Great job seeing it through to the end.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## ripjack13

barry richardson said:


> We need to add that to our list of acronyms



Done....

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## Nature Man

Outcome move been beyond expectations, but consider the source. Once again you've outdone yourself! Outstanding!!! Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## The100road

That looks awesome Barry. Very much my taste. Well worth the time I'm sure it took.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Steve Walker

Prettiest mulberry I've ever seen.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## TimR

I like it @barry richardson . Your persistence paid off nicely, the color variation is striking.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Herb G.

Very nice turning my friend. Something like that would go for about $2500 here.


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## barry richardson

Herb G. said:


> Very nice turning my friend. Something like that would go for about $2500 here.


Thanks Herb! I will gladly sell it to you for $2000, leaving you a little gravy for resale

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Robert Baccus

Really nice [piece--looks now almost like mimosa to me.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Albert Kiebert

Barry, Love the color you ended up with! I wonder if over time it will still turn brown as Mulberry does normally?? I hope not !


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## barry richardson

Albert Kiebert said:


> Barry, Love the color you ended up with! I wonder if over time it will still turn brown as Mulberry does normally?? I hope not !


yea Im sure the yellow will darken, hoping it retains some contrast though


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## Ken Martin

Very nice!
...and I learned something today. 

Would the WTD work on soft maple?


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## barry richardson

Thanks, never tried it, but the solution is most reactive with woods with high tannins, I think maple is low in tannins.....


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## DKMD

Ken Martrin said:


> Very nice!
> ...and I learned something today.
> 
> Would the WTD work on soft maple?



It's not great on the silver maple around here, but I'm told you can paint the wood with tea before applying the WTD to boost the reaction.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## barry richardson

Finished another one from the batch of mulberry I have. Used WTD applied with a spray bottle for this one, I think my solution is too high octain, It turned the wood black almost immediately. So I had to sand it back quite a bit. Will dilute the WTD next time. One thing I learned is the solution is very corrosive so it wrecks the mechanism in a spray bottle (trigger return spring) in a couple of days. This piece started as a knobby base section that had been pruned several times, so lots of stuff going on. Finished with poly, rubbed with steel wool and buffed. about a foot tall.

Reactions: EyeCandy! 7 | Way Cool 3


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## DKMD

That's a beauty! I love the way the WTD highlights the figure.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


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## The100road

So cool. Can't wait tell I can make them like that someday.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Blueglass

Wow!!!


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## NYWoodturner

Fantastic Barry! The black from the WTD adds a lot of depth to the piece. The knots stand out so boldly they appear as a hole. Incredible work man...

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Nubsnstubs

Barry, that's probably the nicest Mulberry I've seen so far. And the form is pretty darn nice also. Good looking wood, good looking form, what else does anyone need?.. How long did it take you to sand it back? .......... Jerry (in Tucson)


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## barry richardson

Nubsnstubs said:


> Barry, that's probably the nicest Mulberry I've seen so far. And the form is pretty darn nice also. Good looking wood, good looking form, what else does anyone need?.. How long did it take you to sand it back? .......... Jerry (in Tucson)


Thanks Jerry, not terribly long to sand back, used an ROS with 220 grit, went pretty quick. I bought a speed controller from Harbor Freight to use with the ROS, works good for adjusting how aggressive you want to sand...


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