I have covered the basics of Kingwood in the past so I won’t repeat all that here.
This was my first time, however, making bowls from Kingwood and I found the process to be a delight. Kingwood, as is also true of most of the true Rosewoods of the Dalbergia genus, cut very clean and required next to no sanding, which is a blessing since sanding an oily wood like Kingwood is no treat although the use of Abranet screens does help a great deal.
What doesn’t come through very well in the photos is how intensely purple Kingwood really is. The dust from the minimal sanding was truly violet. The finish does obscure this a bit and sadly, I expect that the color will darken over time and exposure to light as tends to be the case with colored hardwoods.
Kingwood
These pieces measure ~5.25″ to 5.5″ x 2″.
Note the I INTENTIONALLY kept the sapwood intact. Yes, if you are wondering, I am well aware of how to orient my blanks to remove the sapwood in the turning process but I chose not to do this since I enjoy the contrast and the unique look that I feel the sapwood imparts.
As you have probably guessed, I would be thrilled to work with Kingwood again but this seems unlikely given the genus wide restrictions on all things Dalbergia.
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 as well as Abranet screens from Packard Woodworks. 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!