Anyone have comments on turning bloodwood?
turning bloodwood
Jan 14, 2005
11 Replies
If it is dry, it will be very dusty. The red dust will be everywhere! It takes a good shine and Tung Oil makes the grain pop!
Ray Sandusky Brentwood, TN
I agree with Ray. Bloodwood dust will get everywhere. Bloodwood is somewhat of an "oily" wood, so the dust clings to most surfaces. Where respiratory protection.
Bloodwood is about my favorite exotic to turn. It is dense, cuts and scrapes well. Can be polished to a high shine. I often only apply carnuba wax to bloodwood pieces because the shine off the wood is adequate. Tung oil is a good finish also, although, it may slightly darken to wood and give it a slightly amber hue, making it look a little like padouk.
Joe Fleming - San Diego
I love turning bloodwood. It is a nice dense wood, takes detail well, finishes well, takes a high sheen and smells sweet, like canarywood.
works well with ink pens...even when glued together into a checkerboard ink pen. rich
I'll wear my respirator for sure
The piece just arrived > I agree with Ray. Bloodwood dust will get everywhere. Bloodwood is
i break out in a rash with bloodwood ... might want to test first! e
I find that it dulls tools quickly. Sharpen 'em often!
which one? The question is 'probably' about a wood from S. America, in the 'Brosmium' genus,
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with wood that looks like this
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but it pays to check, as the commercial names get tossed about pretty loosely...it is often called "Satiné" in its home area. "It's easy to see how satine earned some of its commercial names, like bloodwood and cardinal wood. Wood from the species Brosimum paraense, Brosimum rubescens and Brosimum lanciferum yields heartwood that varies from a pale orange red to a deep red. Bloodwood is one of the woods that retains its color. If anything, the color deepens as it ages rather than fades. Bloodwood, or satiné, is also called Brazilwood, which can be confusing, since so many woods share this name, including pau ferro (Guilandina echinata). Another of its commercial names, satinwood, is shared by other species, including Chloroylon swietenia. ..." here are others.
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don't run it through a drum sander. (unless of course you want to change the belt.)
might look into Abranet - a special mesh with bonded abrassive. air flows through the mesh, doesn't load up as fast and, if you soak it in alcohol or paint thinner to clean it up, lasts a LOT longer than sand paper.
charlie b
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