Bottlebrush tree wood

Earle,

I've been using S. California "bottlebrush" for 2-3 years. It's a common landscaping tree out there. It comes in several varieties in terms of color but has one clear identifing characteristic. The bark is a series of laminated layers which can be peeled off one at a time while the wood is wet. On drying out, the whole mess just falls off. If this is what you have, I've had no problems working with it wet to about 1" wall and seasoning in dry chips -- takes a while but cracking has been minimal.

Good Luck

Will Lexington, Mass

The type I have doesn't appear to have the same type of bark you describe. It almost looks like elm, very shaggy and tight to the wood. The trees that were trimmed are about 30 feet high with 18" trunks. The numerous flowers are bright red, greatly enjoyed by birds looking for bugs, I guess. The trimmings were from branches looping out over the road and becoming a menace to passing RVs. I wasn't able to prepare the wood at the campground so I left them in four foot lengths and cut off the inevitable cracked ends when I got home.

I've tried turning the wet bright red wood this afternoon and am quite pleased by the results so far. We'll see how they hold up under microwave/vacuum drying.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Earle Rich Mont Vernon, NH

a Google search says it seems this is an Australian imported species (one needs to be careful, as there are other trees & shrubs which use the name 'bottlebrush')

Earle Rich Mont Vernon, NH