The last pictures I have of A/O brazing

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This is a heavy duty skinner. It should be big and stout enough to handle a buffalo. It's the tang end of a 14" Nicholson lathe file and a piece of mesquite from out in the pasture.A trout knife. A little Nicholson file and more mesquite from the pasture.This one was a lot of trouble. It warped badly when heat treating and about 5/8" broke of the point when I tried to straighten it. Regrind it, anneal it, straighten it, re- heat treat it changing the tempering temperature by 25 degrees.
Reply:Oldtimer:Thanks for the pics and lessons. Wikipedia:Mesquite wood is hard, allowing it to be used for furniture and implements. Wood from the Prosopis juliflora and Prosopis glandulosa is used for decorative woodworking and woodturning. It is highly desirable due to its dimensional stability, after being fully cured. The hard, dense lumber is also sold as Texas Ironwood and is rather harsh on saws, chain saws, and other tools.I thought mesquite was a small sagebrush, with weak structure. Craig9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250
Reply:That's interesting. Never knew the Latin names of mesquite. The New Mexico and Texas variety is called honey mesquite and with good reason. Honey made from mesquite blooms is gooood stuff. Has a dark color but a mild flavor. I can get it locally and it will make you throw grocery store honey in the trash.I can't remember seeing mesquites north of I-40 and they are bushes until you drop off the plains and get down into Texas. That is where they get big enough to build something out of.