# rosewood problems



## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

I'm trying to flatten a piece of rosewood for a jewellery box lid.
You can see the rough streaks in this piece.
I used a sled mounted router which works on maple and beech. The rosewood looked terrible, like it had been rough sawn.
I've been sanding this by hand with 60 grit for quite some time. It still looks terrible.
Any ideas? or should I find a different wood?


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Card scraper or something like the Stanley 80...?


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

I've routed it again, taken off another layer. Sanded with everything from 60 to 240 grit. Its just as bad.

Going to have to find another wood for this box


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## kywoodchopper (Jul 18, 2013)

I sometime get streaks in wood from using a planer with a spiral cutter head. I have a sander that both sands orbital as well as go just around (Festool RO-125 sander). I have had to use 60 grit with the sander going around then switch to orbital. It seems to do the trick. I also do a lot of work with mahogany that easily give stripes in the wood. When you shine a light across the wood is there groves in the wood? Have you tried applying a light coat of shellac to the piece to see what it looks like with a finish? Malcolm / Kentucky USA


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

Malcolm, this is so bad that after heavy sanding you can feel the ripples, let alone see them. The grain appears to be going the other way in places.

I cut four legs of it. 1" square x 8" long. This scarring comes and goes all through the wood.

At the moment, its above my pay grade so I'm moving on. 

Just been to a different wood yard and found some nice walnut boards.
I ran one quickly through the thicknesser and even with some patches still un-planed its already showing a better finish than the rosewood.


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## Quillman (Aug 16, 2010)

You've hit the roey grain.
It occurs because of grain reversals.
It can only be sanded, thickness sanded.
But I have planed it and sanded the defects out.
I did it on a granite surface plate x hand.
Glue down some #100 aluminum oxide or garnet.
And start sanding, x-grain then down grain.
You'll probably lose a 1/16 but, if you're persistent, you can sand it out.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

Pat, Far too much hard work for the sake of the cost of the wood. I was only at the roughing out blanks stage. I've lost about 3 hours before giving up with it, but this walnut is just so smooth and easy I've made up that three in just over 1 hour and am back on track. 
I'm a happy camper.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

The only experience that I've had with Rosewood is turning pens. As for router planing I wonder what type of bit you used, also the size of the router and diameter of the rods. It is of course imperative that the ski assy. is operated from the end cheeks, NOT from the router itself, also that the ski rod diameter is large enough not to sag.
An even better bit to the bottom cleaning one shown in the router is a dish cutter as shown in the last shot. My experience planing many types of wood is that only minimal sanding is required.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

harry, I gave up on this plank of rosewood. There is so much of this soft grain that whatever I did to it the wood just didnt look nice.

I have a 22mm MDF sled 70cm across x 30cm deep that the router is bolted to. It runs on 22mm melamine edges with the wood hot glued to a height adjustable kitchen granite floor tile.
The sled is fine, that plank is firewood.


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