Melaleuca and Lilly Pilly - How good for turning?

[steck]

Good Morning,
I was wondering if anyone here has turned Melaleuca or Lilly Pilly and what their opinions of these woods are?
I am watching a very old and large Melaleuca tree which seems to be dying Thought it might make some good bowls????

[Grumpy John]

Good Morning,
I was wondering if anyone here has turned Melaleuca or Lilly Pilly and what their opinions of these woods are?
I am watching a very old and large Melaleuca tree which seems to be dying Thought it might make some good bowls????

Steck
I've turned some Melaleuca while green and put it away in a sealed bin with shavings. I got some mixed results one piece developed some black spots (mould) and both pieces cracked :(. The timber has some nice pinkish shades running through it. Will take some pics and post them when SWMBO comes home tonight with the camera.

Cheers
GJ

[Grumpy John]

Steck,
Whereabouts in East Oakleigh are you. I grew up not far from the cnr. of FTGully/Huntingdale Rds, it was all market gardens when I was a kid.

Cheers
GJ

[TTIT]

Good Morning,
I was wondering if anyone here has turned Melaleuca or Lilly Pilly and what their opinions of these woods are?
I am watching a very old and large Melaleuca tree which seems to be dying Thought it might make some good bowls????I find melaleuca pretty ordinary stuff. I cut some about 4 years ago and didn't realise that if the bark was left on it would sort of spalt/mould/change colour right through to a drab brown. Machines and sands OK but soaks up the finish.
I've got some Lilly Pilly drying but I haven't actually tried turning any of mine yet. No colour in it so I'm expecting to have to dress it up a bit for effect.

[artme]

As TTIT said with regards to Melaleuca.
I've generally found it easy to turn but in future I'm going to use it for features in laminated items.
Lilly Plly- Fairly ordinary colour but works well enough. There are several different species and some are a bit furry when turned and need attention to sanding method.

[steck]

Whereabouts in East Oakleigh are you. I grew up not far from the cnr. of FTGully/Huntingdale Rds, it was all market gardens when I was a kid.

GJ

I'm about 1 km from The Ferntree Gully/ Huntingdale road intersection. It used to be called Clayton North here but they renamed it.
Haven't seen any market gardens around here lately! LOL

[Grumpy John]

steck,
Pictures as promised. First 3 photos are of a piece that was full of worm holes (just oiled), second piece is a natural edge piece.


I....... didn't realise that if the bark was left on it would sort of spalt/mould/.........

Vern,
Are the black spots on the NE piece what you are talking about?

[TTIT]

..............Vern,
Are the black spots on the NE piece what you are talking about?Nothing like what happened to mine - it just went a horrible brown right through with some spalting lines out close to the bark - but not enough to make it look good :C Then again, I didn't see how it happened as the ends were painted and the bark was still on so maybe that's how it started out :shrug:

[rsser]

Only tried one lump of M.

Wettest piece of timber I've ever seen. But it had very good figure. Rough turned it but wax wouldn't stick so end-grain sealer was painted all over. Grew green mould underneath it in some places. Checked it yesterday and it's warped so much its unturnable.

Rowie has had some good results finish turning it green.

[Little Festo]

Have just finished a large urn from Melalenca and a shallow bowl. Must have been lucky. It was from a large tree. The piece had been out in the weather for quite some time. Very clean, creamy colour with some olivey pea green (would you believe) in the grain, looks ok. The heatwood is a light brown. Will post some pics.

Peter

[rsser]

Here's my sad example ...

btw, some of the old Mel in our area are being culled and they've rotted hollow.

[rsser]

Good Morning,
I was wondering if anyone here has turned Lilly Pilly ...

Lillipilli Satinash: I've not turned it but acc to Bootle it may be worth a go. Fine to medium grain, difficult to dry, interlocked grain; 700 kg per cube.

Let us know how you go.

[steck]

Thanks to everyone for your info!
In summary: it might or might not be any good??
Guess I'll have to try a bit and see.

[rsser]

Pleasure Steck.

Yeah, that's how it is.

You don't know til you hack it up, and if it looks good, til you dry it, and if it still looks good til you turn it.

And then sometimes not til you sand or finish it!

All part of the mystery.

And it pays to have a fireplace or firebox ;-}