Thread: smoothing "fuzzy" rosewood

Could you go a lower cutting angle?

Would this help?

I'll keep an eye on this, sounds interesting

I keep one of the A2 blades for my LV BU smoother with a very high bevel angle, precisely for situations like this. By this I mean a main bevel of 50 degrees, with the microbevel taken up to whatever I can grind using a MkII Honing Guide, probably close to 60 degrees. Combined with the 12 degree bed, this gives an effective cutting angle around 70 degrees, which can handle any weird grain I've ever thrown at it. Quite a lot of NG rosewood has grain as you describe.

I have a stock of home grown blackwood with the grain reversing along the length of the boards, and this plane/blade combo handles it just fine. Nothing else I have (apart from a cabinet scraper) will do the job.

However.............when you get to these very high angles you'll find it VERY difficult to push the plane. To be honest, if I had the choice, I'd reach for a scraper plane like the big heavy LV or LN version in this situation.

I usualy go the scraper plane, I have a home made one and one of Terry Gordons, both work well and then after that go to a nice sharp/burnished card scraper.

Ian, how about considering using the glue size method to stiffen up the feathers so they will cut instead of remaining?

A little bit of glue mixed with a little bit of water to weaken the glue and then dab onto the feathers.

Of course, testing first is higly recommended to get the right mix of glue/water and to see if the end result will work for you. The only thing you'd need to watch is that the mixture is not too runny or spread too wide so you don't end up with a splotched finish due to the glue sinking in.

cheers
Wendy

I've struck the kind of NG Rosewood you are describing, and it's a right beast to get it to cooperate with any sort of tool. The majority of NGR seems to be crisp & good to work with, but these pieces are soft & full of reaction wood or something like that, and are extremely difficult to finish well. I have many years of experience & a veritable arsenal of tools to throw at it, but I have to say that some bits of NGR have nearly defeated me. You probably don't have a huge selection of planes & scrapers, but you can get a fair part of the way with a super-sharp & finely-set plane. Whatever its cutting angle, I find super-sharpness & a fine cut are more important than angle of attack for this sort of stuff. If you've never used a card scraper, this is probably not the sort of wood to start on, IMO, because you need a very nicely-prepared one with a well-defined hook to cut those hairs, otherwise, they tend to pull out & it just makes a bad situation worse. So sanding is probably your best bet, after using a sanding-sealer, as Ruffily suggested (much as I detest sandpaper myself!).

Good luck...

Thank you everyone
I had hoped to get back to the task tonight, but life intervened so it'll now be next week

I've got the no show side of the boards to practice on and will try a high cutting angle or a scraper plane. I've used a card scraper a few times in the past so the tool holds no fear.
I'm reluctant to pre finish, but If I must I will probably hit it with a thin coat of shellac

I'll let you know how I go

again, thank you all

Shellac sounds safer than the glue option, less likely to get spots, we don't like spots!!

If you start sanding make sure you have a good dust mask on. I found NGR dust very irritating when I made a small cabinet.

Originally Posted by ian

Thank you everyone

snip

I'll let you know how I go

again, a big thank you to everyone who responded both here and off line

I got to get back to the boards yesterday. Tried the Veritas BUS (@ about 60°) and a #85 scraper plane.
The Veritas (taking whispy thin shavings) took out the planner marks and about 80% of the tear out. I now know why Derek C raves about this plane.
The #85 managed all but the last 5% -- a knot right on the edge where both planes wanted to pull bits of the knot from the board -- so puled out dad's ETS150/3 sander to finish off.
Boards are now preped ready for the next step which is gluing up the end frame -- just have to taper the legs first

Again thanks to everyone who provided advice when I asked early last year.

Thought you might like to see a shot of the finished table
There's a post over in finishing asking for thoughts on what to use

That's a very elegant table Ian, well done

Are they piston fit drawers or do you have a mechanical drawer runner installed?

Andy

Hi Andy
There is no mechanical runners but I wouldn't describe the drawers as "piston fit" because the drawer box is open on the underside.
As I understand it, a piston fit requires an enclosed drawer box. If Woodwould or someone else who knows for sure is watching they're welcome to chime-in and correct me.
However, the drawer was constructed using piston fit techniques -- i.e. the drawer front was cut to be an exact fit in the opening, likewise the drawer sides were milled to be an exact fit, while the back was cut fractionally narrower than the front.
The drawer has a solid wood bottom held in with slips. See photos

Nice table Ian unusual colour

Thank you for the update.