Blood Removal from unfinished wood

[Brian Eaton]

I nicked myself tonight using a chisel… Nothing serious, thankfully… And I got a few drops of blood on the piece of pine I was working on. Is it ruined? What is the best way to remove blood from unfinished wood so that I don’t have to start over?

[Jamie Buxton]

When I've bled on unfinished wood, the stain didn't penetrate very far into the wood. A little sanding takes it off.

[Mike Henderson]

I just sand it off, also. Seems that I leave some DNA on most of my projects:)

Mike

[Rick Potter]

A few drops? Try a rag and your own spit. It will dissolve your own blood better than water. Then dry thoroughly before sanding.

No, I am not joking. A Dr. told me about this.

[Floyd Mah]

Saw this on an episode of Alfred Hitchcock many years ago, only it was a leg of lamb and the murderer (the wife) served it up later for a meal, after she had dispatched her husband with it. Can't remember if it was the cop who shared the meal with her. Anyway, hydrogen peroxide might remove the color, but I can't say that I've used it on pine, so best to experiment on a hidden part of the piece.

[Wayne Lomman]

Peroxide will remove colour from the timber as well. Wipe with a damp cloth and then sand it out when dry. Cheers

[Brian Eaton]

Sanded right off - thanks everyone!

[Tim Hoyt]

Had a dog who cut his ear badly. While taking him to the emergency vet he shook his head several times in my wife's brand new (2 weeks old kind of new) car. Blood splatter everywhere, looked like crime scene. The vet gave us a squirt bottle of hydrogen peroxide, said to not worry about it bleaching or causing problems. It cleaned up perfectly and easily! He did say for it to work well the hydrogen peroxide needed to be fresh.

[Charles Lent]

I always seem to leave a small blood stain on everything that I make. It's kind of a DNA signiture. If it isn't too visible, I just leave it there and cover it with poly. If it's too visible, I'll do my best to sand it off. Fortunately, in my 60 + years of making things, I haven't left any seriously large blood stains. :~)

Charley

[John C Bush]

Watch the movie "Red Violin" and get some finishing ideas.

[John Welty]

My problem is sweat dripping onto white oak. Sweat drop turns dark and is a pain to get out. I sand it off and everything looks good, put on finish and the sweat drop begins to show... trade mark I would rather leave off...

[Mel Fulks]

Watch the movie "Red Violin" and get some finishing ideas.

Yeah, I saw it ,too. Been thinking the same thing. The telling is stronger than the story, but it's beautiful.

[Dave Cav]

I always seem to leave a small blood stain on everything that I make. It's kind of a DNA signiture.
Charley

Same here. Used to freak my students out. No big deal, most of the time...

[John C Cox]

Man... I thought this was going to be a funny April 1st post about getting rid of blood stains caused by disposing bodies in the table saw or jointer.... Sigh..

[David Utterback]

A question we have all had but were afraid to ask! :)

[Floyd Mah]

Speaking of blood, always enjoyed watching Roy Underhill work. He was always getting dinged with his sharp tools and it was part of the authenticity of the show that he never edited out those mishaps.

[Brian Eaton]

Watch the movie "Red Violin" and get some finishing ideas.

funnily enough, I teach high school orchestra and play viola. I’ve seen that movie many times - it’s a good one!

[Bill Jobe]

Speaking of blood, always enjoyed watching Roy Underhill work. He was always getting dinged with his sharp tools and it was part of the authenticity of the show that he never edited out those mishaps.

That the guy who does everything without electricity?
I saw an episode of his show several years ago when he cut himself pretty good very early in the show. By the end of the show it looked like there was very little of the wood that did not had blood stains. He just kept going. Just part of the job.

By the way, I have a theory as to where exactly your body gets the color to make a bruise. I think it's the same color that left your face when you first got hurt.

[John C Cox]

Roy Underhill could have done an epic series of April Fools videos... Swearing off hand tools completely for a day.. I can just imagine Roy working his way through a series of Festool Domino M&T corners and Kreg pocket screw aprons..

or a Roy Underhill series on Perfect Table Saw Miters and Dados...