While I have written about East Indian Rosewood in the past, this article can be considered a long overdue update. I have gained considerable experience with turning in general, and bowl making in particular, since the original post and the process of making a bowl from a much more sizable piece of East Indian Rosewood material has given me more practical experience to speak to in this updated article/post.
East Indian Rosewood Bowl Blank and Pen Blanks with Finished Bottle Stoppers
Geographical Distribution
East Indian Rosewood, botanically known as Dalbergia latifolia, is, as the name implies, the wood of a tree that is native to the subcontinent of India, ranging from the foothills of the Himalaya down through the body of India and out to the island nation of Sri Lanka. D. latifolia can also be found on the island of Java, in the nation of Indonesia, where it is grown on large plantations due to the high value of the timber, valued for its color, hardness, density, resistance to decay and insect attack, its sweet spicy scent, and of course, its deep coloration.
D. latifolia has been exported and is grown as an introduced species in Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, and Kenya. All of these locations, not coincidentally, were under the control of the British Empire at the time of the introduction of the trees. Introduced trees may be grown for ornamental use on streets, on plantations to provide shade, or on plantations with the intention of eventual harvest. Raising D. latifolia on plantations for the timber trade is a long-range investment and process as those trees being harvested on plantations in Java today were planted in the late 19th century.
While stocks of D. latifolia sold in the United States are almost always marketed as East Indian Rosewood, other common names do exist, depending on geographic location. Some common names in English include: blackwood, Bombay blackwood, rosewood, Roseta rosewood, black rosewood, Indian palisandre, and Java palisandre. Its Indian common names are beete and sitsal.
Very occasionally, some sellers might refer to D. latifolia as “Indian Rosewood” but this common name is most often reserved for wood from a closely related tree, Dalbergia sissoo, also known simply as “Sissoo.” This wood is quite popular in India and is used for a wide range of purposes but it is very rarely exported. The heartwood is much lighter in D. sissoo and it would seem difficult to confuse the two if one is at all familiar with the appearance of D. latifolia.
East Indian Rosewood Bowl Top Side
As those familiar with botanical names will recognize, East Indian Rosewood, being a member of the Dalbergia genus, qualifies as a “true” rosewood. While the distinction may not matter to some users, other wood commonly referred to as rosewood, often with a qualifier, Bolivian for example, which is technically a Machaerium spp, are not considered to be “true” rosewoods by purists, because they are not members of the Dalbergia species. While I find these distinctions interesting, I do not consider myself to be a purist in the botanical sense.
For the sake of simplicity, I will from here on refer to D. latifolia by its common name of East Indian Rosewood.
General Characteristics
East Indian Rosewood is quite hard and quite dense. Even relatively small pieces will have a noticeable heft when they are lifted or carried.
The major source of appeal for users of East Indian Rosewood is its excellent coloration. The heartwood of the East Indian Rosewood tree can vary from a golden brown to a deep purplish brown, with darker brown streaks. The most prized pieces will be those with the deepest color and most significant figure provided by the streaking of the darker colors against the lighter golden colors. Unfortunately, as is often the case with dark and deeply colored tropical hardwoods, the wood will darken with age, usually becoming a deep brown. There are some methods that can be employed to help slow, if not completely prevent, this process from occurring.
East Indian Rosewood is described as having a medium texture with small pores. The grain is usually narrowly interlocked, created swirling patterns that users fine very attractive. This type of grain, as many readers will know, can create problems when working with the wood.
The endgrain of East Indian Rosewood is reported to be diffuse and porous with large pores in no specific arrangement. Note that endgrain pores are a different animal from those described under texture. Texture pores are those on the planed surfaces of the wood, not the endgrain areas. These two types of pores are frequently quite different in character.
While I shouldn’t think it would matter for the major uses to which East Indian Rosewood is put in the Western world, it is, nonetheless, reported to be very durable and resistant to rot and is also resistant to termite and other insect attack.
Working Characteristics
Unfortunately, despite its beautiful appearance, East Indian Rosewood can be difficult to work with tools because of its interlocked grain and density, as was suggested above. To further complicate matters, East Indian Rosewood can sometimes contain chalky deposits that will rapidly dull cutting edges. The existence of such deposits cannot be predicted in advance so it can be difficult or impossible to avoid working with pieces that have such deposits, or to work around them when you cannot see them until into them.
Given the density, the interlocked grain, and the possibility of mineral deposits, it is critical to use sharp tools at all times. As East Indian Rosewood will dull tools quickly, frequent sharpening is the order the day. Alternatively, the use of tools with replaceable carbide cutter tips, such as those in the Easy Wood Tool line, eliminate the need for sharpening while providing excellent cutting and finishing power.
East Indian Rosewood is reported to glue well which is somewhat surprising since most Dalbergia species are fairly oily. Oily woods can be quite difficult to glue and surface preparation is essential in most cases. Removing the surface oils with a solvent, such as lacquer thinner or acetone, both of which dry very quickly, and then quickly applying the glue can overcome these problems. Other potential solutions to this problem exist as well.
East Indian Rosewood is also reported to finish well although I cannot imagine why anyone would want anything other than a clear protective finish since the color and figure of the natural wood is so magnificent. Again, however, the oily and resinous nature of the wood can present complications when finishing. The oils and resins can inadvertently bleed onto surrounding surfaces, causing discoloration or a lack of adhesion when applying finish.
A sanding sealer is highly advisable and many experts recommend the use of old-fashioned traditional blonde shellac, freshly mixed by the user or purchased freshly mixed and used within a maximum of one year. Some wood workers dislike and recommend against using shellac and this is mostly because it doesn’t last long once mixed. But, shellac remains an excellent, very quick drying, semi-gloss finish option, especially when working with oily woods, and other finishes, except perhaps polyurethane, can be applied over the shellac sealer coats. Unless you are going to use a great deal of shellac quickly, it is best and more economical to purchase the dry flakes, dewaxed and blonde for use with dark woods, or the colored flakes if using with light colored wood you want to darken. The flakes are weighed and mixed with denatured alcohol, shaken, and over a few hours of sitting the flakes will completely dissolve. The amount of flakes used determines the “cut” of the shellac and most flakes will come with instructions on use. If no instructions are provided, mixing instructions and ratios are widely available on-line. Shellac mixed this way is best used as soon as possible, but kept well sealed it should be good for about a year.
East Indian Rosewood sometimes has a distinct, rose-like scent when being worked, especially when freshly cut. The scent will be more pronounced in wetter wood although can still be present in thoroughly dried wood too. Some wood workers find the scent of East Indian Rosewood less pleasant than the scents associated with woods from other Dalbergia species.
Pricing
East Indian Rosewood is generally readily available in both dimensional lumber formats and in turning blank sizes. East Indian Rosewood isn’t particularly cheap, although the existence of plantation grown timber helps to keep costs reasonable. Comparatively, prices on East Indian Rosewood are on the high side for an imported hardwood but East Indian Rosewood is not as prohibitively priced as some of the scarcer and more endangered Dalbergia species (which you shouldn’t be using anyway unless it is reclaimed wood).
I always recommend both West Penn Hardwoods and Bell Forest Products as excellent sources of both domestic and exotic hardwoods. I have had multiple dealings with both vendors and have always been very satisfied.
West Penn Hardwoods, which has just completed a challenging move from New York State to North Carolina, has extensive stocks of East Indian Rosewood in both bowl and spindle turning stock sizes, as well as guitar sets, pen blanks, regular lumber and thin dimensional sizes. As a price example, a very large 8x8x3 bowl blank of East Indian Rosewood currently sells for slightly over $50. However, special sales are common so check the website frequently and sign up for email alerts.
Bell Forest Products is selling up to 23 different sizes of East Indian Rosewood, ranging from pen blanks to bowl blanks as well as spindle blocks and limited quantities of dimensional lumber. While they do not offer bowl blanks of the size that West Penn Hardwoods is currently selling, they do offer a respectable 6x6x3 for slightly under $20, which is honestly a better price than currently offered by West Penn Hardwoods for the same size, however, the grade of material on offer may be different as well, but this is hard to determine unless you see the pieces on offer from both dealers either in person, or in a high quality image.
While the two dealers above are personal favorites, East Indian Rosewood is very easy to find and is obtainable from many dealers in tropical hardwoods, probably including one near you. If you don’t have a favorite supplier that you have worked with extensively in the past, by all means shop around for the best prices and the best selection to meet your particular wood working needs.
Woodfinder is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising exotic wood dealers. In your search for East Indian Rosewood, this can be an invaluable resource provided you use multiple search terms to capture all the possible listings. I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer near their home in person to hand pick nice pieces at a comfortable price.
Uses
As is true of many tropical hardwoods with fine coloration and figure, East Indian Rosewood is mostly employed in the construction of high-end furniture and musical instruments. East Indian Rosewood is also used a veneer. More specialized uses include lathe turned and other specialty wood objects.
East Indian Rosewood has been used extensively on acoustic guitars since the mid-1960s as a substitute for the now-endangered and harvest/export restricted Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra).
Sustainability
East Indian Rosewood is not listed with the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices but it is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is on that organization’s Red List.
I purchased the pieces of East Indian Rosewood that I have in stock long before I was aware of the vulnerable status of the species. I am encouraged that the species is not listed by CITES and by the existence of plantation grown wood, but I am also aware of the potential negative ramifications of plantation growing. Ideally, the loss of a species is slowed or halted long before it becomes necessary for inclusion in the CITES Appendices.
Given what I now known about the status of East Indian Rosewood, I may not choose to purchase it in the future but I also realize that inherent in working with wood is the killing of a part of the natural world that may be slow to return and if I become deeply concerned about this fact, I will have to find a new hobby. I hope that such a time does not come to pass or at least not any time soon.
It realize that many, if not most, wood workers do not have endangered species lists memorized, therefore I think it worthwhile and important to do even a small amount of research before purchasing any lumber, domestic as well as imported, to be certain of the potential impact you are having, even in a small way, on threatened or endangered populations. This information is easy to come by and takes only minutes to locate through any Internet search engine, including those you can access on your phone as you are standing in the lumber yard or store. Unfortunately, you simply cannot count on a vendor to tell you a product they are selling is endangered.
Health Hazards
Although severe reactions are somewhat uncommon, East Indian Rosewood has been reported as a sensitizer and repeat exposures may provoke serious reactions. I have heard of limited individuals who have had quite severe reactions which escalate upon additional exposures to the wood. In general, the dust generated by sanding operations poses the greatest risk of causing a reaction. Appropriate protective equipment is therefore recommended, as always, when working with this, or any other, exotic wood, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it.
Complete information about health hazards associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database. Additional information about how to best use a dust collection system and personal protective equipment, such as respirators, can also be found through this excellent and comprehensive resource.
Fortunately, I have experienced no negative side effects when working with East Indian Rosewood.
My Personal Experiences
While I have worked with small pieces of East Indian Rosewood in the past in the making of pens and bottle stoppers, this was my first experience working with a bowl blank size of the wood. I had read about the wood before I started work with it so had some sense of what to expect.
After cutting the square blank to round on the bandsaw, I decided to turn it round between centers before attempting to attach a face plate. The blank had been purchased sealed in wax and it was presumably wet to some degree although I have no idea how long it sat after being waxed. I let it dry slowly over the course of several years through the wax and while it did not check or crack, it did warp during this process, which isn’t at all unusual. Because of this warping, I not only turned round between centers, I also planed off both sides to as flat as possible to make it easier to achieve a decent face plate mounting surface for further turning operations, including cutting the divot for the mounting of the Nova chuck and jaws, a 35mm in this case.
I certainly found the wood to be hard and dense, and therefore slow to cut but with the use of Easy Wood Tools I didn’t encounter great difficulty provided that I maintained a relatively slow speed for the larger cuts, didn’t get in a hurry and was careful to listen to the sound of the wood while I worked it, listening for sounds that would indicate significant stress or tensions that could result in breakage. I don’t know exactly how to describe the sound of overstressed wood, but with experience any wood turner, I believe, will know the sound of imminent disaster.
I was fortunate that I didn’t encounter any of the possible mineral deposits in the piece I worked with and while the grain was certainly interlocked, I didn’t experience difficulty with cutting or shaping the blank.
I detected at most a very slight and faint odor, which was somewhat disappointing as I was sort of looking forward to a more fragrant experience.
My piece of East Indian Rosewood sanded with no exceptional difficulty and I used the standard progression of grits of both sandpaper and Abranet screens to achieve a finish sand and polish down to 800 grit.
The final finish of the bowl presented a challenge. I had read multiple articles about the extreme difficulties encountered when attempting to put a finish on Dalbergia species and I was hesitant. I thought of going to the hardware store and buying a can Zinsser brand ready-made shellac (I did eventually do this although I didn’t use it on this project) to use as a sealer and finish. I also ordered shellac flakes but I didn’t want to wait for them to arrive to finish off the bowl. I considered just using a natural wax such as carnauba to shine up the already fairly glossy natural finish of the wood.
Finally, I decided to experiment with Watco brand Teak Oil which was marketed as being an excellent choice for hard and dense woods such as Teak, as the name implies, as well as Rosewoods. I took the marketing language on the can at face value, and since I have long used, to great success, Watco Danish Oils, I trusted the brand and applied the Teak Oil to my bowl.
These types of finishes are known as “hardening” finishes. They work by soaking into the wood and then undergoing a chemical reaction that causes the oil to harden on exposure to the oxygen in the air, creating a protective finish not just on, but also in, the wood itself. Sometimes, the natural oils in a wood can prevent the reaction from occurring, which can cause the finish to remain tacky for up to a month, if it ever dries completely at all, and that was a risk in using such a finish on a Rosewood. If this happens, the only solution is to try to remove as much of the tacky finish as possible by using mineral spirits and heavy rubbing, extensive sanding, or even mounting the piece back on the lathe and cutting off the affected areas. Obviously, this is a process you want to avoid, so research your finish options for a given species of wood BEFORE applying one.
The Teak Oil did have the effect of darkening the wood, especially on the end grain areas, which required several coats as the wood readily soaked up the oil through the end grain pores, but the darkening wasn’t such that the grain and figure were obliterated. The darkening effect is not at all pronounced in the interior areas of the bowl, for reasons I don’t understand; the darkening effect is more significant on the exterior.
The Teak Oil did take more than the 30 minutes recommended on the can to be dry to the touch. But, after I left it overnight, no more than 12 hours or so, it was completely dry and lustrous, not at all oily to the touch, and I am quite pleased with the results of using the Watco Teak Oil.
East Indian Rosewood Bowl Reverse View
I enjoyed working with East Indian Rosewood and I have rarely worked with a wood as beautiful in terms of natural color, figure and grain pattern. It does require some patience and sharp tools, but I find those helpful with any wood I am working with. I might have some hesitation about purchasing East Indian Rosewood in the future because of its status as vulnerable but I do think it is a beautiful wood, not overly challenging to work with, and for any wood worker who would like to try working with East Indian Rosewood, I would simply suggest reading additional information about how to best achieve the results you are looking for and to then enjoy the process and experience.
As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever their wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!