Crepe Myrtle. Finally turned some!

[Drstrangefart]

I was doing some maintenance on some crepe myrtles at work. Saw a spot where a thick branch had split through the middle and had a big knot in it. Took it home and cut the knot up. Centerband is some acrylic courtesy of Bobalu. I was wondering pretty furiously what it was gonna look like turned round.

 

[Dalecamino]

Pretty wood. I had a feeling that tree would be pretty nice. My cousin has one in his front yard in Pensicola. I now have one in MY front yard.:biggrin: I'll probably be dead before I get a pen from it.:frown:Nice pen.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Pretty wood. I had a feeling that tree would be pretty nice. My cousin has one in his front yard in Pensicola. I now have one in MY front yard.:biggrin: I'll probably be dead before I get a pen from it.:frown:Nice pen.

Annually you're supposed to cut the branches back to the main trunks to keep them growing properly. You should have plenty before you know it.

 

[renowb]

My neighbor has one growing over my driveway and all the pink flowers fall on my car! But they do make beautiful pens. Nice job!

 

[Bobalu]

My neighbor has one growing over my driveway and all the pink flowers fall on my car! But they do make beautiful pens. Nice job!

Next to Sweet Gun, with all those thorny balls to clean up every year, Crepe Myrtle has to be one of the dirtiest trees growing. I have one in my driveway and those flowers get everywhere. Good reason to cut them down and make pens from them.

Nice pen Allen. Love the center band. Now that I'm casting and getting lots of rejects, you're going to have enough CB material to last a lifetime.

 

[DMGill]

Very nice! I picked up a good size branch from a friend today along with some Plum and Mimosa. I've been curious about how Crepe Myrtle would turn.

 

[Drstrangefart]

My neighbor has one growing over my driveway and all the pink flowers fall on my car! But they do make beautiful pens. Nice job!

Next to Sweet Gun, with all those thorny balls to clean up every year, Crepe Myrtle has to be one of the dirtiest trees growing. I have one in my driveway and those flowers get everywhere. Good reason to cut them down and make pens from them.

Nice pen Allen. Love the center band. Now that I'm casting and getting lots of rejects, you're going to have enough CB material to last a lifetime.

YAAAAAAAAAY!!!!

 

[Drstrangefart]

Very nice! I picked up a good size branch from a friend today along with some Plum and Mimosa. I've been curious about how Crepe Myrtle would turn.

Most of it was pretty mellow, stable stuff. The area by the nib was like turning a rock towards the end. I'll turn more of it.

 

[underdog]

Next to Sweet Gun, with all those thorny balls to clean up every year, Crepe Myrtle has to be one of the dirtiest trees growing. I have one in my driveway and those flowers get everywhere. Good reason to cut them down and make pens from them.

My wife would certainly agree with you there. We have one right outside the carport and it's always blowing crud in that has to be swept out.

I've been reluctant to cut it down because it's such a nice tree... but it's got to go. I'll see if I can put a cutting from it in another place.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Next to Sweet Gun, with all those thorny balls to clean up every year, Crepe Myrtle has to be one of the dirtiest trees growing. I have one in my driveway and those flowers get everywhere. Good reason to cut them down and make pens from them.

My wife would certainly agree with you there. We have one right outside the carport and it's always blowing crud in that has to be swept out.

I've been reluctant to cut it down because it's such a nice tree... but it's got to go. I'll see if I can put a cutting from it in another place.

In my experience, the Myrtles have some pretty impressive root balls. If you cut it down, try to pull out the root ball and pressure wash the bejeezus out of it. Bet there's some stunning lumber in there.

 

[Lee K]

Next to Sweet Gun, with all those thorny balls to clean up every year, Crepe Myrtle has to be one of the dirtiest trees growing. I have one in my driveway and those flowers get everywhere. Good reason to cut them down and make pens from them.

My wife would certainly agree with you there. We have one right outside the carport and it's always blowing crud in that has to be swept out.

I've been reluctant to cut it down because it's such a nice tree... but it's got to go. I'll see if I can put a cutting from it in another place.

In my experience, the Myrtles have some pretty impressive root balls. If you cut it down, try to pull out the root ball and pressure wash the bejeezus out of it. Bet there's some stunning lumber in there.

and expect a brand new crepe myrtle to pop back the following spring .... those things will grow forever ...

 

[76winger]

Beautiful looking pen, you did a great job!

 

[Drstrangefart]

Next to Sweet Gun, with all those thorny balls to clean up every year, Crepe Myrtle has to be one of the dirtiest trees growing. I have one in my driveway and those flowers get everywhere. Good reason to cut them down and make pens from them.

My wife would certainly agree with you there. We have one right outside the carport and it's always blowing crud in that has to be swept out.

I've been reluctant to cut it down because it's such a nice tree... but it's got to go. I'll see if I can put a cutting from it in another place.

In my experience, the Myrtles have some pretty impressive root balls. If you cut it down, try to pull out the root ball and pressure wash the bejeezus out of it. Bet there's some stunning lumber in there.

and expect a brand new crepe myrtle to pop back the following spring .... those things will grow forever ...

When I worked at Dobbins ARB, 9/11 happened, and we had to dig up the roots of 6 crepes at the front gate so's they could build a bunker. Thought we were NEVER gonna get them dug up. They never came back, but then there was an 8 foot tall sandbag bunker built on top of them.

 

[boxerman]

Very nice pen.

 

[jskeen]

Crepe myrtle's make awesome slingshots too! They tend to fork vertically but remain symmetrical. The bark peels off pretty easily and that white, fine grained wood is very strong.

So if you cut it down, save the forks and give me a call!!!!

James