Tasmanian Myrtle Bowl

Allen,

Is that wood also know as Red Myrtle?

Thanks,
Paul

Hi Paul,

It could well be. I purchased the blank from a shop in Annapolis that specializes in exotic lumber. It was clealy marked with a symbol that indicated to the owner that it was Tazmanian Myrtle. However, in scanning through a number of images in this gallery it has become very clear to me that most myrtles are not red.

I would be delighted if you could shed some light on this. If I have mis-identified the species, I would like to correct it immediately.

Thanks for the inquiry,
-Allen

PS: Paul, I did a bit of research out on the web and found that Tasmanian Myrtle is also known as Red Myrtle, Tasmanian Beech and Australian Cherry. Its scientific name is Northofagus cunninghamii. ...FYI..

Hi Allen,

The reason I asked was, I bought a bowl blank form the local Rockler store. It was marked as Red Myrtle. It has great figure. I roughed it out and it's in the drying (seasoning?) stage. I'll post a photo when I finish the piece.

Take care,
Paul

Hello Paul,

I'm looking forward to seeing your Red Myrtle piece!
The Tasmanian/Red Myrtle piece shown above had far more color and figure than I had expected. In fact, the day that I bought the blank, I was actually looking for some Jarrah. I came home with several pieces of each and based on this first attempt am really looking foward to turning a Red Myrtle burl that I bought that day.

Best Regards,
-Allen