As Bolivian Rosewood is not a member of the Dalbergia<\/em> genus it can’t be considered to be a true Rosewood although Machaerium spp<\/em> are closely related to Dalbergia<\/em>, so it is about as close to a true Rosewood as you can get outside of the Dalbergia<\/em> genus.<\/p>\n For the sake of simplicity and common understanding, I will refer to M. scleroxylon<\/em> as Bolivian Rosewood from here forward. Please note that Bolivian Rosewood is also commonly called Pau Ferro, Morado, and Santos Rosewood.<\/p>\n The color of the heartwood of Bolivian Rosewood can be highly varied. It is know to range from reddish\/orange to a dark violet\/brown, usually with contrasting darker black streaks. The narrow sapwood of Bolivian Rosewood is a pale yellow and is clearly demarcated from the heartwood.<\/p>\n The grain of Bolivian Rosewood rain is typically straight, though sometimes slightly irregular or interlocked grain can occur depending on the exact Machaerium<\/em> species in question. Bolivian Rosewood features a fine, even texture, and a naturally high luster. That said, some species within the Machaerium<\/em> genus can have a coarser and more fibrous texture.<\/p>\n Bolivian Rosewood is rated as very durable against rot but it is quite susceptible to insect attack and it is not recommended for direct ground contact.<\/p>\n Bolivian Rosewood is considered overall to be of fair workability.<\/p>\n Bolivian Rosewood can blunt the cutting edges of tools.<\/p>\n Any irregular grain encountered in Bolivian Rosewood has a tendency toward tearout during machining operations.<\/p>\n Many of the same challenges in gluing true rosewoods are common to Bolivian Rosewood as well.<\/p>\n Bolivian Rosewood turns and finishes well.<\/p>\n Depending on the exact Machaerium<\/em> species, the Bolivian Rosewood can have a characteristic spicy floral scent.<\/p>\n Bolivian Rosewood is in the medium price range for exotic imported hardwoods.<\/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 Of my favored vendors, West Penn Hardwoods<\/a>, Bell Forest Products<\/a>, WoodTurningz<\/a>, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods<\/a>, and Exotic Woods USA<\/a> all offer Bolivian Rosewood but only in spindle sizes at this time.<\/p>\n Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Bolivian 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 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 Bolivian Rosewood is commonly used to make veneer, musical instruments, cabinetry, flooring, interior trim, turning, and other small specialty wood objects.<\/p>\n Bolivian Rosewood is not listed in the CITES Appendices, and many of the species within the Machaerium<\/em> genus are reported by the IUCN as being of least concern. One exception is Machaerium villosum<\/em> from Brazil, which is reported as vulnerable due to deforestation.<\/p>\n To the best of my knowledge, the United States government does not place any additional restrictions on Bolivian Rosewood.<\/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 Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, Pau Ferro has been reported as a sensitizer<\/a>. The most common reactions include simple eye and skin irritation. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a high rate of reaction among woodworkers, and the wood contains the very same sensitizing substances as those found in rosewoods (Dalbergia<\/i> genus).<\/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 Fortunately, I did not experience any adverse effects while working with Bolivian Rosewood.<\/p>\n Overall, I found Bolivian Rosewood easy to work with. It cut extremely clean and required very little sanding to achieve a nice natural gloss. It took the final finish very well and I am pleased with the results.<\/p>\n Bolivian Rosewood<\/p><\/div>\n Both bowls measure 5.5″ x 2″.<\/p>\n All major cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool<\/a> system on my Robust American Beauty<\/a> lathe, although I do use Robert Sorby bowl gouges<\/a> for light final passes before sanding. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck<\/a>, while reverse chucking was done using a Nova Chuck with Cole Jaws<\/a>. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs as well as Abranet screens<\/a> 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 <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Overall, I found Bolivian Rosewood easy to work with.\u00a0 It cut extremely clean and required very little sanding to achieve a nice natural gloss.\u00a0 It took the final finish very well and I am pleased with the results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":3785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,136,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[154,168,171,181,188,200,217,226,230,239,240,241,247],"yoast_head":"\nGeneral Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
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