Lacewood Question

[ChrisD]

I'm sure I can read up on this but nothing beats experience-based knowledge, which abounds here.

I'm waging a war against MDF. That's right: the two sidetables in the living room, the table-disguising-as-a-sideboard in the dining room, and the telephone stand in the home office.

I want to start with the sidetables. I'm planning on making a couple of Shaker-style tripod stands: panga panga for the pedestal and lacewood for the round top (about 18" in diameter).

For those who have experience with the latter: How challenging is lacewood to plane and how did you tame the tearout? I will be using solid 4/4 stock (as opposed to veneer).

Thanks in advance, guys.

[scmhogg]

Chris,

I love the look of Lacewood.

I made a table top out of 4/4 stock. I didn't have a drum sander then, so I wet the surface with a sponge, ran the board at an angle, at the slow speed on my planer. One very light cut on each side. No tear-out!

I left the top at close to the full 4/4. I beveled the underside to give the top a lighter look. There is a picture of the table top in a recent post about pencil boxes.

Lacewood has large pores, not unlike red oak. I filled the pores using a slurry. Danish oil flooded on the surface and 220 grit. I let the slurry dry on the surface for 24 hours and sanded it smooth. I did it twice to fill all the pores. I let it dry for a couple of days [in SoCal] and brushed on several coats of poly. I like the amber tone that resulted. The slurry didn't dim the grain or the depth at all.

Some people are allergic to the dust, be careful.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Steve

[ChrisD]

Steve,

I did a search before posting and found your beautiful table from a couple of years back. I kinda knew you would be the first to reply.

Thanks for the info. I was concerned that the rays would chip out the way they sometimes do on quartersawn oak when you feed at a wrong angle. I've dealt with this situation before by using a router on rails to plane.

Thanks for confirming that you did not use any colorant. I really like the way it turned out. I'm using panga panga for the base because I want to achieve a naturally dark color for it. I think it would be a nice contrast to the amber tone of the lacewood (assuming it all comes together like I am envisioning it; of course, that's a big assumption!).

[drumpriest]

I've only really played with lacewood veneers, and I've had access to a drum sander (though not yet in my own shop). I would though double Steve's suggestion of wetting the wood before sanding it. Just a little moisture makes the fibers stand up, easier to plane. Router rails would certainly work, and is especially good with spiral cutters when dealing with really curly materials.

[ChrisD]

Thanks, Keith. Given the thickness of the top that I would like to have, I should have enough wiggle room in 4/4 material to take a test pass on the planer. If it shows tearout that's beyond the capability of a scraper to repair, then I'm off to the router rig.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

As noted Lacewood and Fish Tail Oak cause allergic reactions in some people, including me. I am normally not allergic to anything. Having said, I *believe* that once the wood is sealed and finish coated a few time the allergic reaction is reduced. I don't have a problem handling the picture frames I made out of the stuff nor do I have a problem being in the room with the finished products.

I had absolutely no problem with tear out on this stuff. I had problems Zebrawood, birdseye maple and the like, but jointing, planing, cutting and routing have never been a problem for me using Lacewood.