# Bloodwood



## WoodCrusher (Mar 27, 2015)

I have a small board of bloodwood that was given to me by a friend. I am thinking of using it to make a wall coat hanger. Is the wood hard to work with and what is the best way to finish it?


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## routergieck (Feb 11, 2013)

Rob this wood is very dense and quite brittle. Make sure all your tools are aharp and use backer boards if necessary to prevent tearout. I have found that the thickness planer handles it very well and it will come out satin smooth. The sawdust is a blast - very deep dark red. It sands well and will be extremely smooth to the touch when you get down to 220 or 320 grit. I have used polyurethanes on it -spray on satin and it leaves a great finish. I would imagine it would be fantastic with a french polish finish. Have fun with it as it is a very beautiful wood


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## routergieck (Feb 11, 2013)

Rob one thing I forgot about bloodwood is that it does have a tendency to warp if you are thinking of resawing it. Even with pieces that have been sitting for years I have learned to resaw them oversized to allow for taking out the warp with the thickness planer. If there is any hint of a crack in the wood it will also show itself by progressing significantly within one or two days of resawing. I dont think finishing the wood quickly would help as I have tried to hold boards straight with clamps for a week or so and it didnt stop the movement.


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## phillipsted (Sep 26, 2014)

I use a lot of bloodwood - beautiful stuff. Deep, rich color.

I concur with routergieck - it will move quite a bit after you resaw it and relieve internal pressures in the slabs. Resaw right before you need it. I also agree with the brittle comment - guard against chipout at the edges. But it will cut cleanly with sharp tools and hold detail if you carve it.

Normally, I plane/scrape it out and finish with Waterlox. I hand rub the Waterlox (not brush it) and let it build up four or five thin coats.

TedP


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

I happened to be at my local Rockler store when they got in a direct shipment of exotic woods. I couldn't believe it but the shipping crate was built from bloodwood! Imagine how nice it would be to have such an abundant local supply that you could use wood like this for shipping crates.


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