Any downsides to bloodwood?

[Eric DeSilva]

I picked up a piece of 4/4 at a local hardwood supplier, since it had such a nice color. I always regarded the stuff as some kind of exotic, but when he rang it up, its the same price (at that place, anyway) as cherry and only 10% more than QSWO. So... What is the downside of using this stuff? Seems incredibly dense--does is destroy sawblades or something? Give off noxious odors? What am I missing...

[Ed Sallee]

I've used Bloodwood several times. It is a very dense, hard wood. It will dull your blades more than some of the domestics. But, I didn't really have any problems with it. It is actually nice to work with......

[John Terefenko]

The downside is it is too pretty to cut up and you just want to look at it. Seriously though like any woods weather exotic as this is or domestic people have reactions to them or may not. If it is true bloodwoodand a deep red color it is a great accent wood and I use it all the time. Dust masks are recommended as always. Don't get any splinters because it will get infected. It is a hard dense wood but with sharp blades you can cut it easily and it takes finish well after you wipe down with acetone. Wipping with acetone is a must also when glueing because it is an oily wood. Have at it and post a picture of the project when done.

[Tom Sontag]

I am working with some just now. Like other very hard woods, it likes to chip out on cross cuts. It requires sharp planes and is very particular about which direction you swipe them. Nothing insurmountable, but it is not like working walnut.

[Brent Smith]

Dust...... use good dust collection or every thing in your shop is going to be red!!!! I find that it's a lot like ebony, very fine dust that gets into every thing. Aside from that it works beautifully and you can get a very nice finish on it.

[Jason Whelehon]

I'll second a GOOD dust mask or better yet, respirator. I was coughing for a few days after working with it. And sand it by hand. I noticed a random orbit sander just left too deep a gouge for me.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Down sides? Way too many to list. Send it to me and I'll give you some good stable MDF.

[Jason Whelehon]

HAHAHA... send me the wood and I'll make you a pen. I'll need at least 400bf for a cigar pen.

[Paul Downes]

I make pens with the stuff. Angle cut bloodwood is very brittle, and as mentioned, when cutting the end grain it has a tendency to blow out or chip. Other than that it is beatiful wood and one of my favorites, especially the ribbon figure.

[Brad Shipton]

I used some as splines in a project. If you sand it adjacent to a diff wood you will find the small particles bleed into that wood. It is diff to get rid of the bleed from the adjacent wood. The other problem I had is as with many dense exotic woods it splinters easily when trying to chisel away material. I had a heck of a time paring off the splines in my project. Otherwise, it is a beautiful wood.

Brad

[Lee DeRaud]

Dust and color bleed are the only downsides I've found, but it's not nearly as bad as padauk on either issue.

[Steve knight]

it makes pretty much the finest sawdust of any wood I have used. I have used most tropical woods. I always smelled the dust when using a mask and it came through my dc filters without a problem. even when i went to a cyclone you could smell it.
it can be track to hand plane I found some boards where the edge had grain going two directions split down the middle.

[Phil Harding]

I'm using Bloodwood as an accent color for the home entertainment center I'm building. Besides the cost, the only downside I've experienced is it's heavy and the dust will turn everything red. I've resawn it, ripped it, and cross cut it with no problems. The flex hoses on my jointer, planer, and drum sander are all tinted red from working bloodwood. Oh, watchout for the splinters :eek:- they are hard to remove and more painful (in my opinion) than other woods.

It polishes to a beautiful finish.

-- Phil

[Eric DeSilva]

Thanks for the responses. Guess for an exotic it seemed, well... reasonably priced. Still not sure what I'm going to do with it, maybe some accents or something, or maybe a bloodwood/black walnut box. I've got a pretty decent DC, but given what has been said, I might invest in a mask anyway.


Down sides? Way too many to list. Send it to me and I'll give you some good stable MDF.

Sorry Cliff, stocked up on MDF over the weekend for some templates too. The funny thing about that was I went to the orange store to get a 1/2" sheet and wanted it cut in half so it wasn't so unwieldy. The guy there running the panel cutter made me get a store manager because he said cutting MDF was very dangerous and he could lose an eye--all the while pointing to a sign that said they won't run melamine or laminates through the panel cutter. I'm pointing at the 4x8 sheet saying "do you see a shell on this?" and explaining that MDF is basically cardboard. Still hadda go get a manager. Aie.

[John Terefenko]

Ed

I have planed, it resawn it, sanded it using drum sander as well as orbital sander, and as seen here I scroll saw it. Like I said it makes a great accent wood and I have no problem with bleeding dust. As an example the clock on the right is red oak and bloodwood accent. The one on the left is rosewood and red oak. I have glued them side by side and sanded together with oak and had no bleedover. Just need to blow dust off with compressor but remember the dust mask. Good luck.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

T cutting MDF was very dangerous .

Prolly just didn't want to do it.

[Stan Smith]

Sure seems to burn/smoke a lot when a scroll sawed some even at a lower speed with a new blade. I believe this was due to the heavy oil content noted above.

[Robert McGowen]

If you run it through a drum sander. either take very, very light passes or be prepared to put on a new belt when you are finished with the bloodwood.

[Steve knight]

no real oil content in bloodwood.
I have never cut enough of it to see if it stains my hoses permenetly. but padouk sure does. all my clear hoses are orange.

[mark page]

I am a little sensitive to it, or should I say, I may have mild allergies to it. Very dense and oily. I will pass on large projects with it just because I'm so sensitive to it. Beautiful wood though. If you don't have excellent dust control, your shop will be red along with your clothes. The nature of the wood makes it a tad bit brittle on cross cuts but nothing that is not manageable.

[Dewayne Baker]

I have used bloodwood a number of times and love the contrast with lighter species. The red dust seems quite strange at first and I was compelled to keep it cleaned up. It has a peculiar smell that is quite unique. It is very dense but machines beautifully with sharp tools. The biggest issue I have with it is that it bleeds and transfers color to lighter woods during the first coat of finish. Especially shellac. Sanding can also contaminate the lighter contrasting woods. I'll see if I can post a couple of pics of projects I have used blodwood in.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-12/1115451/brazilliancherrybloodwoodboxalt.JPG

Bloodwood and brazilian cherry.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-12/1115451/shotglassdisplay2alt.JPG

Bloodwood and cherry.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-12/1115451/Alt2.JPG

Bloodwood and African mahogany.

I don't intend to hijack your post only to inspire you to incorperate some of this beautiful wood in your own projects. All of thease projects where finished with clear oil and varnish finishes.

[Stan Smith]

outstanding and beautiful work, Dewayne!!!!!!