# Rosewood Bowl



## RexB (Jan 5, 2013)

Here is a Rosewood Bowl that is sanded to 12k. I have not put a finish on it as I'm not sure what is good (plus I'm a beginner so any suggestions is a bonus!)

It is about six inches across and four inches tall. This is another attempt at making a bowl. I think I almost have it. Also what is a good way to sign the bottom of a dark bowl?


Thanks to Kevin who has helped a lot.


Hope I did the pictures right


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## Mike1950 (Jan 5, 2013)

Nice bowl. Beautiful wood. Just a note- but if you make pictures 800x600 they will show up larger.


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## barry richardson (Jan 5, 2013)

Nice little bowl Rex! Many people who turn bowls a lot, use wood burning pencils, the ones that have a separate power unit and work best for this are a bit pricey. I go back and forth between using a cheap wood burner (that doesnt work that great IMO) to using a dremmel with a tiny burr, to a sharpie. But I'm not very satisfied with any of these. I've heard a recommendation (that I plan to try next time) of engraving the signatures with a dremmel or one of those little vibrating engravers, then rubbing colored wax into it to highlight it. This would be done after the finish is applied and cured. While I've got my "Mr know-it-all" hat on, I might as well add that in my experience, there is little benefit in going above a good 400 grit sanding for the raw wood. The key to shine and luster beyond that is to "finish the finish" with superfine grits or a buffing system.


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## Tim Carter (Jan 5, 2013)

Nice bowl! You have a number of choices for the finish but the first question you need to answer is do you want a low gloss/matte finish or a high gloss finish? If you decide you want a low gloss finish, several coats of a danish oil like Watco, followed by wax will give you a finish that will be really smooth and feel soft to the touch. If you decide you want a high gloss finish, spray lacquer is easy to do. I like the Deft lacquer. You also can use wipe on poly but it can be difficult to get to dry on rosewood. I've found that wioing the piece down with mineral spirits and then applying a thin coat of poly works the best. As far as signing a dark piece, I use a Dremel engraver and it fine on both light and dark woods. Hope these ideas help.


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## Jdaschel (Jan 5, 2013)

Great bowl! 
you can use a silver sharpie and then finish over it.


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## West River WoodWorks (Jan 5, 2013)

Hi Rex
The bowl looks great! 
Since you have sanded the bowl to 12000 grit, you have limited yourself to what you can finish it with. 
Standard finishes need to be applied below 3200 grit or they just can not stick to the wood.
You can apply a wax finish which would look nice on your rosewood and provide good protection, or sand it back to 3200 or less grit and apply a standard finish.

I like to use tried and tru finnish. It is a polymerized linseed oil and beeswax finnish. Its completely natural and food safe. But technically all dried finnishes are food safe.:dash2: Here is a link to it http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2007233/2040/tried-and-true-original-wood-finish-quart.aspx
Anyway, you apply light coats and let them dry. Then I buff it with 0000 steel wool and apply another light coat.
The beeswax builds a satiny finnish when buffed with the steel wool and just gives the wood a very warm look.
Nice job and happy turning!
Tom


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## BurlsorBust (Jan 6, 2013)

Paste wax. Keep it simple, apply it warm, buff slowly and for as long as you can between coats. Looks good on all rosewoods in my opinion... x2 on going on above 400 not really being necessary! 

Nice form by the way!


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