Double Jeopardy Question

[MatthewZS]

So I recently asked my first question on this forum and had great information fed back to me from everyone. I'm now going to see if we go 2 for 2

I'm a big fan of ..... to call it segmenting would be generous...... but using layers of alternating woods..... preferably white woods like maple along with blood wood, purple heart....... etc..... in my pens..... nothing unusual, I guess it's a pretty common thing. I happen to have alot of blood wood and something I keep running into is that when I glue together a blank with bloodwood and just about any white wood I have problems sanding the final blank because the bloodwood dust "stains" the lighter wood.

Anyone know a solution to this? Obviously sanding the lighter wood won't work because.... well, see above........

Is there maybe some "bleaching" that can be done?

Thanks in advance

 

[witz1976]

Try to use your skew to get it as smooth as possible then call it good and start your finish. You already know the reason why no sanding...good luck!

 

[Fred]

Try using MinWax Wood Hardner (Home Depot or Lowes) and soaking just the white wood parts overnight. Follow the directions for drying and then assemble the components. Maybe the hardened white parts will then be a bit better protected from the dust of the darker Bloodwood. You need to seal the white wood cells from any darker wood dust that comes from sanding.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

I'm not sure about bleaching. I use a skew as a scraper after I sand to remove the dust. Use a gentle hand. It is a little scary the first time. Any more questions just ask.

 

[its_virgil]

Seal and seal often during sanding. You can seal with thin CA, thinned lacquer, thinned shellac, sanding sealer, or any other similar product. I personally like cellulose sanding sealer. The sharp skew with no sanding is also an excellent choice.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[MatthewZS]

I JUST recently started exploring the joys of a nice sharp oval skew so that's not a bad idea at all And I have some of the minwax hardner I may try too. Again, a veritable fount of good advice! Thanks all!

 

[Willee]

Matt, after cutting the blank with your tools seal it with thin CA glue.
Sand lightly with 220 and seal it again.
Between sanding and sealing you can use a Mr Clean Magic Eraser.
It has microscopic fibers that will dig down into the grain and help remove the particles lodged there.

If you keep the wood grain and other pits in the wood sealed there will be no place for the tiny bits of bloodwood to hide and discolor the lighter wood.

I also use a water based sanding sealer made by General Finishes called "Endro".
Been using it on my pool cues for years.
Fast drying and seals the wood grain very well.

Willee

 

[kirkfranks]

One other thing that helps me is use of compressed air.
I typically will sand with the paper on the bottom of the blank and at the same time and continuously blowing air on the top of the blank. This blows off the red dust before you have time to grind it back into the wood.