Lacewood???

[joseph j shields]

I'm building a sofa table for my church auction (shaker style) but want to add a little flair & I'm considering using some Lacewood for the legs.

I have a couple of questions about the wood:



How easy it to cut/sand/rout...???
What kind of glue should I use???
Best finish to use... I tested a piece with an oil finish and the oil darkened the wood to the point where the "lacing" was barely visible. Any suggestions???
Any thing else I should know about the wood???

Thanks for your help!!!!!!!


-jj

[Mike Parzych]

I've found that it's quite easy to plane, despite the "lace," with no tearout. And it's pretty stable in terms of not warping after planing. I think Titebond would work well enough. To keep it bright you could try water based finishes, as they don't add amber tones like oil-based.

[jerry cousins]

try a very pale shellac for a few coats. and some folks have reactions to lacewood - just a heads up.
jerry

[Brian Kerley]

I'm building a sofa table for my church auction (shaker style) but want to add a little flair & I'm considering using some Lacewood for the legs.

I have a couple of questions about the wood:



How easy it to cut/sand/rout...???
What kind of glue should I use???
Best finish to use... I tested a piece with an oil finish and the oil darkened the wood to the point where the "lacing" was barely visible. Any suggestions???
Any thing else I should know about the wood???

Thanks for your help!!!!!!!


-jj

It's very fibrous. But, it is also very hard and can be polished up very nicely and it fairly closed grain.

[David DeCristoforo]

I love this stuff! It's plentiful, easy to get "certified" lumber, has awesome figure, works easily and is pretty reasonably priced for figured wood. Heres a detail shot of a chessboard made from it:

http://www.daviddecristoforo.com/chessdd/misc_img/lcwd_cm2.jpg

Just remember that the figure and color can vary a lot so ideally you would want to select boards.

[Jim Tobias]

It is a great wood when you want something wiht a different look. It can be very "showy" if you pick your boards carefully. The edge grain is usually very plain but the face grain more than makes up for it.
Here is a couple of items that I made using Lacewood as the main wood and ebony as a trim. The first 3 pictures are a jewelry display case for a friend that hand makes jewelry. The last 2 pictures are a wall mounted jelwery box/case that is also lacewood and ebony.
I think you will like how lacewood works and finishes. Both of these projects have a light coat of Watco and then several coats of Antique Oil finish(Minwax).

Jim

[joseph j shields]

Jim,

Nice pics!!!

Have you used water based finish with lacewood??

-jj

[joseph j shields]

David,

Very nice!!!!

What did you use to finish the lacewood???

-jj

[george wilson]

Go to the Neander section,and see the art deco jewelry box and table thread.It is in FAQ. By now,further posts may be back several pages. The jewelry box and table are mostly lacewood,finished in nitrocellulose lacquer.

[Jim Tobias]

Joseph,
I have not to date. However, these projects shown here were in my "pre USL spray" days. The next project that I do in Lacewood, I will definitely use the Oxford Ultima WR Stain Base and tint it wiht Transtint dyes to get the look that i am after. I have used it recently on a couple of small projects and it is very user friendly and adaptable.

Jim

[David DeCristoforo]

"What did you use to finish the lacewood???"

"Old school" (like George).... I used nitrocellulose lacquer....

[george wilson]

I used the nitro lacquer because I had it on hand.It is the traditional finish for old American made 20th.C. guitars. It is Star brand,and it is a very pretty lacquer. I never use the vinyl sealers that some guitar makers now use.It leaves a very cold looking finish.Fender,Martin,and many others now use the vinyl sealer. I use a thinned out epoxy and alcohol mixture that works great,and has beautiful depth and warmth to it. When it hardens,it never shrinks into the pores.