Thread: Brazilian rosewood... and one for me :)

I've been working with some Brazilian rosewood lately, and, I was certain from the moment tung oil touched it, that tung was the finish to go with. Though, I figured I'd try one with CA anyway to test my gut instincts.

finishes 1
finishes 2

The one on the left is finished with CA and the one on the right with tung oil. It barely shows in the pictures, but I do feel that the tung oil finish warms up the wood a little and also brings out abit more depth in it. Just goes to show that there really is no universal finish

Anyway, I also have some more pictures of the CA finished rosewood bruckmann razor I've been working on, so without further adue...

front closed
front open1
front open2
back open
top down

The razor itself has been polished all the way up to 2000 grit and then buffed quite abit. Unfortunently, there was some etching on the face of the blade that I just couldn't keep, but, I'm still very happy with the product. The two little inlayed brass pins near the third pin on the razor were actually a mistake I accidentally drilled the third pin in the wrong place, so I just drilled two more for symmetry and then filled in the holes with polished up brass rod.

That's all class right there. Well done!

X

Lookin' p.i.m.p.

Thanks guys. I'm glad you like em X, seeing as one of them is yours

Finally some goodies staying on this side of the border

very nice, indeed!

Are these drum polished? As you say, photos don't show that much difference, but I am sure tactile is another story

Cheers
Ivo

Drum polished? not sure what that means, but there is quite the difference in tactice feel between the two.

CA polymerizes to an acrylic, similar to plexiglass, so it's quite hard. You really get no feel from the underlying wood. Some like it, some don't, I think it's kinda cool though.

The tung oil dries softer. I'm not quite sure what to compares it too; it's not hard enough to be polished, but not so soft that it dents or scratches too easily. It also has a more natural feel, and smells kinda nice IMO as well

As far as finishing steps go. The CA can be sanded down smooth, and then polished with simichrome, MAAS, etc. to a near glass like quality. Tung oil on the other hand is a whole other beast. It's soft, so it can't be polished out like CA. It can, however, be buffed, but the result is apparently still somewhat matte. If you want a glossy tung oil finish, you need the glossy tung oil and have to apply the final coats almost perfectly as it can't just be polished up afterwards.

The tung oil finish on the rosewood in the pics isn't quite as smooth or as glossy as it can be, but I'm getting closer and closer now Both finished were done by hand, and for the CA finish, that means both sanding and polishing.

If you want glossy, and Tung oil, you have to wax it, with beeswax or Carnuba, Alla' fine furniture.

I meant the blades, Jason - I was wondering if you used sandpaper on a drum...

Nice work
Ivo

Nice work Jason, I like those scales very much and sets off the fancy back on the razor well.