Finishing bloodwood?

[MilDoc]

I will be using some bloodwood for a small BS box (just don't have enough wide pieces for anything bigger).

I've used Arm-R-Seal a lot, but was wondering what y'all would suggest for a finish?

[drumpriest]

Seal-A-Cell and Arm-R-Seal. Can't go wrong with it in my opinion. BS boxes are a lot of fun. I used Arm-R-Seal on this one, which was Butternut. I havn't found a wood that is a problem for Arm-R-Seal. Consider flocking material for the insides of the drawers.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...hlight=bandsaw

[Stan]

I will be using some bloodwood for a small BS box (just don't have enough wide pieces for anything bigger).

I've used Arm-R-Seal a lot, but was wondering what y'all would suggest for a finish?

I have a combo Bloodwood and Coffeenut box that I haven't had a chance to 'finish' yet. Was just wiping down with mineral spirits when I found out that TiteBond II don't work very will with Bloodwood.... Haven't gotten around to getting any CA glue yet. Arm-R-Seal may be an option for that one though.

[MilDoc]

I have a combo Bloodwood and Coffeenut box that I haven't had a chance to 'finish' yet. Was just wiping down with mineral spirits when I found out that TiteBond II don't work very will with Bloodwood.... Haven't gotten around to getting any CA glue yet. Arm-R-Seal may be an option for that one though.

Did you wipe down with mineral spirits first? Bloodwood is oily, need to remove it.

[Stan]

Did you wipe down with mineral spirits first? Bloodwood is oily, need to remove it.

Yeah, the oily part is what I discovered. In trying to glue the back resaw together -- it kinda didn't 'take' too well.

[kwgeorge]

Paul, I have pretty much switched over to General Finishes products. I really like them since I started using them. I use David Marks recipe of 2 coats Seal-A-Cell and then 2 to 3 coats of Arm-R-Seal topcoat and I just love the results. I use steel wool between coats and for the last coat I will wet sand and then finally rub down the finish with rotten stone. I have found a really neat little trick when applying these types of finishes; first I presoak the hair bristle brush in mineral spirits and return the brush to the mineral spirits bath between coats instead of cleaning it. This makes the finish flow more consistent from the brush and helps a lot in the cleanup later.

Stan, not sure why you’re having problems with Titebond and Bloodwood other than possibly not cleaning the wood good enough before you glue. I pretty much got in the habit of wiping all my wood down with mineral spirits before I glue and really have not had issues. You have to remember that dense hardwood are pretty slick when sanded and for a proper bond to take place you need to get the glue into the wood cells so cleaning the wood is a must to get oils and dust out of the cells. Also it helps to rough up the glue surfaces with 220 grit sandpaper. I just did a table with a lot of Bloodwood accents using Titebond (pics coming soon)

[gjbivin]

I've used bloodwood quite a bit in the boxes I've made, including a jewelry box for my wife.
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ight=bloodwood
So far, I haven't noticed any glue or finish problems, although I admit none of the joints have been subjected to very much stress. I wiped the mitre joints (at least) with mineral spirits and let them dry before gluing.

[JackAZ]

Bloodwood or Chakte Kok

I'm confused. I guess Red Heart and Chakte Kok are the same animal, but what is the species name for bloodwood?

I recently built this clock from Chakte Kok and it seems to me to resemble the Bloodwood examples in this thread. Can someone clear up the confusion for me?

http://www.bt3central.com/attachment...1&d=1149377103

[MilDoc]

A lot of different trees go by the name bloodwood. What I have is a Eucalyptus species from Brazil I think.

[just4funsies]

The stuff I make from bloodwood gets handled a lot. I've had good luck with a mineral spirits wipe, followed by two or three coats of tung oil. It's a renewable finish, and looks quite good.

[lrogers]

I made a bloodwood/ash business card holder for LOML a while back. I used plain old poly, wiped on and it looked great. The bloodwood is cool in that you can use the finer grit sandpapers (I used 300) and almost polish it.