I have written about Bloodwood in the past, including my first experience with making Bloodwood bowls.
I can’t claim that Bloodwood is one of my all time favorite woods since it is splintery and it does not cut as cleanly as I would like, requiring more sanding that I am fond of, but it was an interesting experience that I am glad I had the chance to complete. The dark red color of Bloodwood is its primary appeal, but as is true of most all highly colored tropical hardwoods, this color will eventually fade to a boring brown with time, so enjoy that color while you can.
Bloodwood 5.5 x 3
Bloodwood 6.5 x 2.5
Bloodwood 6.5 x 2.5 v2
Bloodwood 6.5 x 3
Bloodwood 8 x 2
Bloodwood 9.5 x 1
Bloodwood 13 x 2
Bloodwood Set of 8
My favorite piece is the 13″ platter. Granted, the color is weak but the sheer size and the interesting pattern make the piece striking nonetheless. It is rare to find Bloodwood in such a large dimension so thank you to the folks at Tropical Exotic Hardwoods of San Diego for sourcing this piece. The blank was heavily checked when I bought it but almost all of that was cut out in the rounding process and in cutting the reverse. It is a good example of why we shouldn’t reject a checked blank on principle without considering how we might eliminate such defects in the turning process.
The completion of these Bloodwood blanks signals the completion of the set of 110 blanks that Dad prepped for me back in the Spring so it seems like a good time to take a break, especially as it is the peak of the heat and humidity here in the southern California desert and my wall unit AC can only do so much. I will be back, in time, but expect an absence of at least a couple of months.
All major cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool system on my Robust American Beauty lathe, although I do use Robert Sorby bowl gouges for light final passes before sanding. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck, while reverse chucking was done using a Nova Chuck with Cole Jaws. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks as well as Abranet sanding screens from Craft Supplies USA. Final finish is Shellawax.
As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!