Redwood Burl with problems

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CaliforniaRed

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I turned some unstabilized redwood burl. Turned incredibly easy since it seemed to weigh less than balsa wood. Turned it down to size with no problems. As I was sanding, it appears my black 600 grit sandpaper felt like bleeding into the redwood. As I cleaned with DNA, it seemed to get worse. Not knowing much about wood I applied BLO before finishing. What a mistake that turned out to be. I have black splotches on the entire pen. It almost looks like I took a torch to the wood. I can't figure out if this is going to look good assembled yet or not.

Question is, did the BLO cause the black? It was a pretty boring piece of wood before the BLO. Any suggestions for using something else to pop the grain?
 
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tipusnr

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Sorry but I've never run across this kind of thing before. If you get a chance, please, upload a picture of the blank so I can see more clearly what you mean.
 

Old Griz

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The problem as I see it is using BLACK sandpaper... you have to expect the grit that breaks off when sanding to collect in the pores of the wood... redwood being especially soft will collect that grit like no tomorrow....
I will not use black sandpaper for any of my pens... I recently bought some very nice stearated paper from Klingspor (http://www.woodworkingshop.com/cgi-bin/214F345F/mac/qryitems.mac/itemDisplay?lenSgDsc=54X5ST4%2E5%20X%205%2E5%20SHEETS-%20STEARATE&qryType=GRPSG) they carry it in 4.5x5.5" sheets up to 1500grit at $0.78 for a 5 sheet pack.. considering you can get almost 50 blanks out of each sheet that is a heck of a deal...
I still wipe down between grits even with this paper... better safe than sorry...
I have done some real nice pens from redwood burl.. it finishes beautifully... but as you noticed it is soft. It also absorbs BLO like a sponge and will take some time for the BLO to dry, a lot longer than most other blanks... If you are using BLO on these blanks let them dry for a couple of days before applying your topcoat finish... The BLO will pop the grain of redwood burl and give it a real nice look... Here is a pic of some lace redwood burl I did with BLO

<b>Lace Redwood Burl Platinum Jr Gentleman</b><br />
200565174246_LaceRedwoodBurl.jpg
<br />
 

Dario

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Thanks for the link Tom...I love the Klingspor ones I have but they are only up to 320 and I thought they don't make them in higher grits.

They really cut nicely and fast, last like forever...unless you load them up with wet CA or other finishing materials...DAMHIKT [:D][}:)][;)]
 

CaliforniaRed

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Clovis, CA, USA.
Originally posted by Old Griz
<br />The problem as I see it is using BLACK sandpaper... you have to expect the grit that breaks off when sanding to collect in the pores of the wood... redwood being especially soft will collect that grit like no tomorrow....
I will not use black sandpaper for any of my pens... I recently bought some very nice stearated paper from Klingspor (http://www.woodworkingshop.com/cgi-bin/214F345F/mac/qryitems.mac/itemDisplay?lenSgDsc=54X5ST4%2E5%20X%205%2E5%20SHEETS-%20STEARATE&qryType=GRPSG) they carry it in 4.5x5.5" sheets up to 1500grit at $0.78 for a 5 sheet pack.. considering you can get almost 50 blanks out of each sheet that is a heck of a deal...
I still wipe down between grits even with this paper... better safe than sorry...
I have done some real nice pens from redwood burl.. it finishes beautifully... but as you noticed it is soft. It also absorbs BLO like a sponge and will take some time for the BLO to dry, a lot longer than most other blanks... If you are using BLO on these blanks let them dry for a couple of days before applying your topcoat finish... The BLO will pop the grain of redwood burl and give it a real nice look... Here is a pic of some lace redwood burl I did with BLO

Thanks for the info. I am still learning about these types of problems. I doesn't seem to have happened with my other pens but the redwood burl is the most porous wood I have turned. When I was searching for this issue I came across your pens and noticed that mine looks nothing like yours at all. I will see if I can get a picture posted so you can see how bad it is.
 
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