Oregon Tiger Myrtle...... ?

[Odie]

Recently finished a Tiger Myrtle bowl, and was wondering if anyone knows how this Oregon species gets the dark stripes.....?

I bought three of these Tiger Myrtle bowl blocks, and the one I chose to do first doesn't have much of the tiger figure......so, I'm showing you the other two roughed and seasoned bowls, as well. I chose the least figured one because I've never done Tiger Myrtle before, and didn't really know what to expect......if I get any surprises in the finishing, then I'd rather it be this one!

If you know something about the coloring and figure of TM, let us know what's what, please.......thanx

ko

 

[robo hippy]

Odie,
I have turned a fair amount of myrtle, and as near as I can tell, tiger myrtle just happens some times, and other times not. No particular reason. It does not appear to be disease related like rotting or infection, and the black, as near as I can tell is just a color stain. Some got it, some don't. I will ask my log supplier and a friend south of here who has turned myrtle for 30 years or so.

robo hippy

 

[Odie]

Odie,
I have turned a fair amount of myrtle, and as near as I can tell, tiger myrtle just happens some times, and other times not. No particular reason. It does not appear to be disease related like rotting or infection, and the black, as near as I can tell is just a color stain. Some got it, some don't. I will ask my log supplier and a friend south of here who has turned myrtle for 30 years or so.

robo hippy

Hello Robo.......

I did an initial Google search on the origins of Tiger Myrtle prior to asking here, but I guess I didn't use the right key words. Just now, I tried it again and came up with this:

Minerals drawn up from the soil color the wood. The struggle or stress during the growth of the tree causes the figurations. Many grain patterns appear in myrtle: burls, tiger-stripe, fiddleback, quilt, inkline, and flame grain. It is as if nature had combined our abundant rainfall and the acid soil to form a rainbow in the heart of this unique tree. It often forms a design. With a little imagination one can see animals, ocean scenes, mountains, or rivers. If you are lucky enough to find a piece with a pink or orange streak, you may even see a sunset.

My source:
http://www.realoregongift.com/Myrtle_Tree_Story/myrtle_tree_story.html

ko

 

[robo hippy]

The color variations are pretty wild. I did a hall table for a couple, and after the finish was done, the entire top had a slight burgundy blush to it, just like some one spilled some red wine on it and it soaked in a little. You just never know.

robo hippy

 

[davepeck]

Many years ago I was told that if you had a myrtle log that was very plain the best thing to do with it was to bury it in the barnyard for the winter. Come summer you would have much more interesting turning wood. I've never had a barnyard so cannot vouch for how effective it would be.

 

[Gary Chapman]

Recently finished a Tiger Myrtle bowl, and was wondering if anyone knows how this Oregon species gets the dark stripes.....?

I bought three of these Tiger Myrtle bowl blocks, and the one I chose to do first doesn't have much of the tiger figure......so, I'm showing you the other two roughed and seasoned bowls, as well. I chose the least figured one because I've never done Tiger Myrtle before, and didn't really know what to expect......if I get any surprises in the finishing, then I'd rather it be this one!

If you know something about the coloring and figure of TM, let us know what's what, please.......thanx

ko

Odie,
Now will you wax ait and store if for 8 months or so? Do you turn green or cure them ? I have a couple of hundred blanks brying so I will always have one to turn. I don't turn green a lot. Gary

 

[robo hippy]

The thing with the barn yard trick is that the wood will also smell like a barn yard... Myrtle is pretty stable during drying with little movement. I still have not found out about any particular cause of the tiger striping.

robo hippy

 

[Odie]

Odie,
Now will you wax ait and store if for 8 months or so? Do you turn green or cure them ? I have a couple of hundred blanks brying so I will always have one to turn. I don't turn green a lot. Gary

Hi Gary......

It is my usual procedure to rough bowls with a MC of 14%, or more. Depending on my intuition, I sometimes do not wax (anchorseal) bowls that are exactly 14%, but always wax seal all bowls that are 16%, or more. Once roughed and wax sealed, I weigh monthly, and when there are three or four months of consecutive unchanged weights, they are ready to finish turn after installing a waste block. Sometimes, during the winter months, I use the four month rule, but during the spring, summer, and fall, three months are usually good to consider the moisture stabilization complete.

Sometimes, I rough at 12% mc (no anchorseal) and do some monthly weights.....just to see if there is any loss of moisture. Sometimes yes, mostly never. More times than not, I'll finish turn a block in one sitting that has 12% mc. Almost never do I get bowl blocks that are less than 12%. I turn kiln dried (KD) lumber into bowls, too.....KD lumber is anywhere from 6% to 12%, but the great majority is around 8-10%. What percent of mc I get, may be different than somebody else will get somewhere else.....seems to be regional.

The two roughed tiger myrtle bowls you see in this thread have already gone through the seasoning process. I don't have my notes here, so I can't give specifics on those two.......but, since they have waste blocks installed, I know the seasoning process has already been done. They are ready to finish turn whenever I decide to mount a faceplate and proceed.......

As you can imagine, there are no hard rules to follow. There are overlapping indicators of how to proceed with any single bowl block.....and, you just have to go with your gut on some of them....

To answer your question, I do not turn green wood. It isn't part of my "style", but others do, and have great results turning green......

ko

 

[Jack Dohallow]

Hello Robo.......

I did an initial Google search on the origins of Tiger Myrtle prior to asking here, but I guess I didn't use the right key words. Just now, I tried it again and came up with this:



My source:
http://www.realoregongift.com/Myrtle_Tree_Story/myrtle_tree_story.html

ko

I use to work at the Myrtle wood factory/Real Oregon gift years back when they did the woodwork on site, before it turned into the campground, and subleting out the woodwork.

Yes that's what I have been told about minerals in the soil, and yes we use put whole logs in the mud bog out back for years trying to get more color into the wood from the bog. There might even still be some down the bottom of the bog.

I'm not sure if it worked or helped, but know We would come up with wood almost completely black.
Lots of beautiful wood!

I also use to work at House of Myrtlewood in Coos Bay after leaving Myrtlewood factory, so maybe you can see I am a little biased and love Myrtle wood.


Jack