Paperbark Tree

[bundyrum68]

Hi All,
Chasing some info on paperbark trees here in Qld. I have quite a few here on my property and seems like a pleasure to turn.
I have read on different sites that these are also refered to as Ti Tree & Myrtle. I have worked out that they are from the Melaleuca ??? family.
What gets confusing to me being a newbie is matching up the botanical name with the common name etc. Melaleuca/paperbark/myrtle.:?
Any info or comments welcomed!!
Attached is a Pot Purri bowl for my first effort, sanded to 800 & fininshed with shellwax


Steve

[TTIT]

Forget the common names Steve :no: - they vary from one farm to the next. You would need the leaves and/or flowers to identify the tree correctly or pay big bucks to have it identified from the wood. There a few varieties of malelueca so some pics of the flowers would help (many are flowering now). The timber you have there is a much nicer colour than the one I tried out here - twas a very bland brown but , as you said, wasn't bad to turn.:U

[Gil Jones]

Steve, no matter what the tree is called,
you did fine job turning into a cool looking potpourri form.
We have Myrtle here, but it is very light beige in color.
Gil

[funkychicken]

I've got aloooooooooooooooot of that at my place but like TTIT it's all a bland browney colour - darkish brown with cabothane and weird creamy brown with beeswax.


I just call it Mellaluca... When people give me a blank look I add "Paperbark"

[OGYT]

Really a nice pot pourri bowl, Steve. Well done. I agree with the rest. Regardless of the wood you did it justice.

[ss_11000]

theres a heap of paperbark around my area...i always figured it would be a rather plane soft timber. i might have to try some after seeing your peice.

nice turning btw:2tsup:

[wheelinround]

I have a similar peice I am trying to turn outside turns great but inside :oo::doh: like trying to turn hardend steel so I keep putting it a side I have another which i haven't started both from my sons tree in his backyard.

The peice on the lathe has been turned down quite a bit

the bit in the bucket is end profile of same branch.

[wheelinround]

:doh: darn flu's sorry your peice is excelent

same here confusion riens with ID of timbers and species I got to find my little tree book

[Tornatus]

G'day Steve

Since I often have a whinge on this forum about the identification problems caused by confusing common names, I thought I should tell you about two sites that I always find helpful:

The Australian Woodworker's Database - often has photos of wood & finished examples: http://woodcentre.com.au/

Australian National Botanic Gardens - helps at least narrow down the list of trees with the same or similar names: http://www.anbg.gov.au/common.names/

With a widespread species like Melaleuca, it is often helpful if you know the location where the tree was growing - this can help identify the sub-species, because certain trees are confined to specific localities/habitats, or are most commonly found in certain areas. At the end of the day, however, proper identification needs a lot more detail than just a sample of the wood.

Good luck!

[bundyrum68]

[The Australian Woodworker's Database - often has photos of wood & finished examples: http://woodcentre.com.au/

Australian National Botanic Gardens - helps at least narrow down the list of trees with the same or similar names: http://www.anbg.gov.au/common.names/


Thanks for the above info...had a brief look and will investigate further.:2tsup:
To all others thanks for the positive comments. Makes a newbie like me want to head straight back to the shed!!:D

Steve