Thread: Question are crepe myrtle and jacaranda good bowl turning/ carving timber?

Crepe Myrtle is a rather dense, very fine timber that holds detail well... although it takes a bit of work to put the detail there as the timber tends to be rather hard. Like many fruit trees, it it's very prone to splitting when felled and really, really needs to be sealed as soon as each cut comes off the saw blade.

I've always considered Jacaranda to be a 'boring' wood in that it tends to be pale with little figure... much like a piece of Ash. Mind you, it's also prone to spalting and some mineral discolourations so it can be a pretty wood if you have a bit of luck. It's fairly middle-of-the-road stuff to turn, although I vaguely remember some problems with large splinters separating off whilst roughing down.

Both timbers are worth trying to turn at least once.

Okay thanks for the information if I do get a large enough bit of crepe myrtal i will give turning it a shot

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

I've always considered Jacaranda to be a 'boring' wood in that it tends to be pale with little figure...

.

Boring ..Little figure ...and cuts like butter too ...here's some pics Skew ..MM

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

I've always considered Jacaranda to be a 'boring' wood in that it tends to be pale with little figure... much like a piece of Ash.

The Jacaranda and Red Ash I have are riddled with figure, just like Qld Maple. Crows Ash is normally boring, but the last lot I cut had heaps of figure too.

So if i do get some jacaranda from the central coast it may have some interesting grain in it. What about the crepe myrtal are some of the smaller bits useful for pen turners at all or just fire wood and what about some of the larger bits from the forks even though some have cracks in them. will post some pics when I get some crepe myrtal and jacaranda later this week

The best grains are from below the forks of the tree and at the base where the stresses are greatest. Usually fiddle/quilting is visible in the bark too at these points

Originally Posted by dai sensei

The best grains are from below the forks of the tree and at the base where the stresses are greatest. Usually fiddle/quilting is visible in the bark too at these points

so there may be some fiddle back below the forks in the crepe myrtal. What size does the fiddleback start in as some of the small stuff has forks in it? and what would be the best way to cut the crepe myrtal to see it it has fiddleback in it ?

Originally Posted by dai sensei

The Jacaranda and Red Ash I have are riddled with figure, just like Qld Maple. Crows Ash is normally boring, but the last lot I cut had heaps of figure too.

Originally Posted by MAPLEMAN

Boring ..Little figure ...and cuts like butter too ...here's some pics Skew ..MM

OK, OK. I stand corrected. Again. However, there're always exceptions... even in plain old 'boring' Ash.

these are some photos of what my 3 pieses of crepe myrtal fork and part ot a jacaranda log look like the crepe myrtal will be re cut later on the schools bandsaw so hopefuly some nice wood will come out of this so i can do a bit of carving and turning. the jacaranda will be discarded as it has borers or ants in it and the discolouration in the grain as part of the green wood that i had on it was more or a creamy white colour. are the black lines in the kacaranda pictured some form of rot or is it the start of spalting?

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Originally Posted by Wood Collector

are the black lines in the kacaranda pictured some form of rot or is it the start of spalting?

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Yep,spalting has started,don't discard the pieces because of this though,as it looks good when polished!!...MM

will the spalting process continue in this piece of wood and the other piece? or has the spalting in it stoped since i have cut it up?

Spalting will continue until it is dry

if i keep the 2 with spalting in a ziplock bag and add some moisture the spalting will continue through out the wood?

I just leave mine out in the open on some wet mouldy concrete