If you have ever bought exotic lumber you find out how expensive and remote it can be, especially when you live at the end of the line. I always wanted to incorporate Mesquite in a project but the wood is hard to come by and expensive. So I decided to try and use my bandsaw as a saw mill. I got a couple of old limbs, de-barked a one foot piece, and “re-sawed” until it was about 3″ x 3″ x 5″. I also got a couple of small boards that I can use in a bandsaw box later.

I was amazed at the beauty and workability of the wood. To see what the results could be I adapted a pencil holder design for my piece and you can see the result in the picture.

So I encourage you to try re-using limbs you may find laying around especially if you live where exotic woods abound.