Despite the common name, most of the D. cultrata<\/em> that finds its way to the United States originated in other areas of Southeast Asia as opposed to just Myanmar (Burma).<\/p>\n For the sake of simplicity and common understanding I will refer to D. cultrata.<\/em> from here forward using the common name Burmese Blackwood.<\/p>\n The heartwood of the Burmese Blackwood can be variable, ranging from a medium olive or reddish brown to a darker purplish brown, frequently with nearly black streaks throughout. As is so often the case with highly colored tropical hardwoods, the color will tend to darken with age and exposure to ultraviolet light.<\/p>\n The pale sapwood of the Burmese Blackwood is clearly demarcated from the heartwood.<\/p>\n The grain of Burmese Blackwood is often irregular. The texture is uniformly medium. Burmese Blackwood displays a very good natural luster when properly surfaced and polished.<\/p>\n There are no definitive data regarding rot resistance, the high density of Burmese Blackwood should confer a high degree of durability. Burmese Blackwood is known to be resistant to termites.<\/p>\n There are not extensive reports regarding the workability of Burmese Blackwood but it is noted that it’s high density may make it difficult to work with.<\/p>\n Burmese Blackwood, as is true of most of the true rosewoods, has a high natural oil content that can complicated gluing. Suggestions for overcoming these problems is presented in this guide to gluing oily tropical woods.<\/a><\/p>\n Burmese Blackwood is reported to turn and finish well, taking a high luster when properly surfaced and finished.<\/p>\n Burmese Blackwood has a distinctive scent, which is common among true rosewoods, although the specific scent of Burmese Blackwood is unlike that of other rosewoods.<\/p>\n In the past, Burmese Blackwood was only occasionally imported as short and narrow boards or turning stock. Prices were in the mid to upper range for an imported hardwood.<\/p>\n Currently it is EXTREMELY difficult to source Burmese Blackwood due to the species wide inclusion of Dalbergia in the CITES Appendix II which prohibits exportation of both raw wood and finished products made from Burmese Blackwood. So, while it would be legal for me to transfer ownership of the Burmese Blackwood bowl I just made to another resident of the United States, I can no legally transfer it to anyone in any other country.<\/p>\n In this blog, I almost always recommend several vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence. These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods<\/a>, Bell Forest Products<\/a>, NC Wood<\/a>, WoodTurningz<\/a>, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods<\/a>, Griffin Exotic Wood<\/a>, Exotic Woods USA<\/a>, Got Wood?<\/a>, and Wood Turning Blanks 4U<\/a>.<\/p>\n At this time, I am unable to locate a source for Burmese Blackwood in anything other than pen blank sizes and over time these supplies will dry up as well. If you really want to work with Burmese Blackwood, look now as availability will on decrease as time passes and existing, currently irreplacable stocks, are diminished.<\/p>\n Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Burmese Blackwood 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 in person to hand pick pieces at a comfortable price.<\/p>\n A significant problem with using Woodfinder is that many vendors are listed for woods that, upon further investigation, they do not offer. I don’t know if perhaps once they did and they didn’t update their listings or if some vendors use a standardized list of woods that include most everything conceivable with the idea that once you land on their page you will find something you want to buy even if you didn’t know it beforehand. It happens to me all the time!<\/p>\n Burmese Blackwood, when available, is most commonly used to make turned objects, carvings, furniture, inlay, musical instruments (percussion), and small specialty wood items.<\/p>\n Burmese Blackwood, and ALL Dalbergia spp. woods are now heavily restricted under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices<\/a> and is it listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature<\/a> as “near threatened” while not yet meeting the requirements for inclusion on the Red List.<\/p>\n The United States government does and will vigorously enforce all CITES prohibitions and restrictions. If caught trying to import or export Burmese Blackwood you can expect hefty fines at a minimum and your wood, or objects made from Burmese Blackwood, WILL be confiscated. It just isn’t worth it.<\/p>\n I 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. In part because I am concerned about legally and responsibly obtained wood, I am reluctant to buy from sellers outside of well-established and known vendors. I am highly unlikely, for example, to purchase any wood from auction sites, such as Ebay, because of uncertain sourcing and documentation, as well as the potential, even likelihood, of material being misidentified in order to achieve a higher selling price.<\/p>\n However, due to the commercial scarcity of some woods, resorting to auction sites such as Ebay or Etsy may be the only way to obtain some desirable domestic, or in some cases exotic imported, species that are not routinely commercially harvested. The potential risks of buying in these marketplaces have to be balanced against the desire to work with a specific species of wood. That is inherently an individual decision.<\/p>\n I also 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.<\/p>\n In addition to the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, rosewoods in the Dalbergia genus has been reported as sensitizers. The most common reactions include simple eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. As always, caution is essential until you are certain you are not sensitive to Burmese Blackwood.<\/p>\n It is important to remember that although many people may, or may not, be sensitive to any given wood, the only experience that truly counts is your own, so use reported side effects as guidance but not as a substitute for cautious and safe practices.<\/p>\n Appropriate protective equipment is therefore always recommended when working with this, or any other, wood, exotic or domestic, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it.<\/p>\n Complete information about health hazards<\/a> associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database<\/a>. 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.<\/a><\/p>\n While I experienced no difficulties while turning Burmese Blackwood, once I started sanding and generating fine dust, I immediately experienced an intense burning in the nostrils and throat. I quickly donned my N95 respirator and I was easily able to continue working with the wood.<\/p>\n I had a wonderful, if limited, experience of Burmese Blackwood. It cut super clean due to hardness and required little sanding. Once the wood was finely sanded to 800 grit it was beautifully polished with just the natural oils present in the wood. As I noted, the dust was a bit of a challenge in terms of respiratory irritation but it was worth it for the rare beauty of this wood.<\/p>\n My piece was small, just 5″ x 2″ but it has a rich color palate that includes deep, almost black, purple predominantly with streaks of lighter brown and dark black.<\/p>\n Burmese Blackwood<\/p><\/div>\n Sadly, my piece also included a section of sapwood, which was clearly demarcated not only by color but by a stress fracture as well. As I feared, the sapwood immediately came free from the edge and I had to cut down the size of the bowl to accommodate this loss. I SHOULD have tried to stabilize the sapwood with some cyanoacrylate glue but I didn’t find the crack deep enough for the glue, not even in thin format, to penetrate, and given the resistance of oily woods to gluing I am not confident that anything could have saved that piece of sapwood.<\/p>\n The first thing I did upon completing the Burmese Blackwood bowl was to try to source supplies of the wood so that I could work more with this amazing material, but I can’t locate single bowl blank. If anyone finds stocks of Burmese Blackwood please let me know, provided of course that you don’t want to keep the source a secret for your own use! And honestly, I couldn’t blame you if you did.<\/p>\n All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool<\/a> system on my Robust American Beauty<\/a> lathe. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck<\/a>, while reverse chucking was done using a Nova Chuck with Cole Jaws. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks<\/a>. Final finish is Shellawax.<\/a><\/p>\n 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!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sadly, my piece of Burmese Blackwood also included a section of sapwood, which was clearly demarcated not only by color but by a stress fracture as well.\u00a0 As I feared, the sapwood immediately came free from the edge and I had to cut down the size of the bowl to accommodate this loss.\u00a0 I SHOULD have tried to stabilize the sapwood with some cyanoacrylate glue but I didn’t find the crack deep enough for the glue, not even in thin format, to penetrate, and given the resistance of oily woods to gluing I am not confident that anything could have saved that piece of sapwood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":3266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[128],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nGeneral Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
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