Cocobolo

G

Greg Scott

Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
8
I have had my experiences with cocobolo. Needless to say not good! Howevever i still feel that coco. is one of the prettiest and most colorful woods out there and the cost is very attractive when compared with the other "rosewoods". Has anyone had sufficient experience with stabalized coco. to know if the stabalizing resin encapsulate the oils in coco. enough to make it useable to recative knife makers?
 
I too love the looks of some nice Cocobolo. I have made about 25 knives with Cocobolo and none were stabilized. I sand and just lightly buff to a beautiful finish. I have never had an issue with shrinkage or swelling? Maybe I have just been lucky?? I have tried several different oils to finish with but none come out as nice as just buffing for me.
 
Cocobolo does not need stabilization, nor does it take well to the resin. Sand it out to at least 600 grit, better to 1000, then buff it.
 
Greg, if you know you're sensitive to cocobolo, then just avoid it. It isn't worth the potentially serious health hazards that an allergic reaction poses. There are tons of beautiful alternatives to try.
 
I did not stabilize it, but sanded and wiped it down with acetone to cut the oils and than finished with tung oil. Worked, but it would probably have beene asier to just sand and buff. In my defense, I was laminating it to make a gunstock though. Wiping with acetone did work with epoxy as well for the laminate.

Larry
Tinkerer
 
My understanding is that coco is full of natural oils.
Buff it and enjoy.
However, it is one of the woods most likely to cause skin/eye irritation when sanding- I use gloves and a mask. I know woodworkers who have gradually developed severe sensitivity to Cocobolo and can no longer use it.
Padauk is the same way, if not worse.
 
Padauk and Brazilian Tigerwood have irritating dust. The Tigerwood's dark streaks are more irritating than the lighter pieces They are much more oily. Funny, my three current projects are Cocobolo, Padauk, and Tigerwood.
 
Cocobolo also fades quite a bit darker after a while. It's lovely stuff, for sure, but it doesn't stay as finished in my experience. I wonder whether a CA finish would work/look good with it.
 
I think alot of you guys don't realize that he's asking if stabilizing it may help him avoid health issues related to working with it.


I just lost a week due to a respiratory infection brought on by working too long with desert ironwood and no respirator, which I've learned is a drop in the bucket compared to what I should probably expect from Cocobolo... Don't risk it Greg if you've had a real reaction in the past. I've heard some bad bad stories.
 
Jason addressed that above. "Doesn't take well to stabilization"
Sorry to hear about your breathing problems, that's nasty- every time I get casual about it I regret it. If it's not ironwood, it's abrasive grit or metal dusts...what a crazy way to make a buck :)
 
I get a mild skin reaction to it if I handle it a lot, so i don't use cocobolo. As others have said, be careful with it. If you react to it, I'd stay away from it.

Do a google search on "cocobolo and poison ivy".

Ric
 
Thanks to all. I think the old saying of "discretion is the better part of Valor" does infact apply. Thanks for the in-put. I will bow to better minds and refrain from even trying cocobolo stabalized.
 
I doubt very much that stabilizing would make any material safer to work with. When we grind/sand it, we end up with very fine particles so I'd guess that you'd still be exposed to any irritating oils and whatnot. If anything, it may make it worse... surely it couldn't be good to breath in the hardened resins. Discretion (in the form of PPE) is indeed the better part of valor.
 
In concur with the opinions above. I've used Coco a lot - and it is very dense and oily and does not take stabilization well at all. It clogs up my tools and sandpaper mercilessly, though. I keep my file card handy and need to clean the files every dozen strokes or so...

Personally, I don't seem to get any reaction from it - and I really enjoy the unique scent of the saw dust. However, it is a strong "sensitizer" so your allergy will likely get more severe with increased/continued exposure.

TedP
 
Yeah stabilizing wont do anything for ya. The only thing I could suggest trying is if you have a sander that you can move outside do that. Get one of those cheapo tyvex suits for painting and what not and wear that with your respirator. Once your done take a leaf blower or whatever and blast the stuff off your sander and away from your shop. This is if you have a place outside to do it.

Once it is sanded and buffed it generally wont give you any issues.
 
Once you develop the sensitivity to cocobolo, it is not likely to get better.
 
jdm61 said:
Once you develop the sensitivity to cocobolo, it is not likely to get better.
Click to expand...

That in all reality of physics should be true, but oddly enough I had an slight reaction a few months ago while working Cocobolo ie; burning/itchy skin eyes nose and throat, and a minor rash on my hands. I had used pieces from the same slab of wood before that incident with no reaction and have since cut pieces from the same slab (very big slab) with no reaction what-so-ever. Really weird.
 
What I would suggest if your intent on using it would bet to use rubber doctors gloves over a long sleeve shirt, glasses, respirator, and have a vacuum set up directly under your work station

- also using hand tools tend to drop the dust on the floor while power tools throw it all over the place -

I'm no expert, but I'm darn near positive that I would react to cocobolo so that was the precaution I took and I didn't have any problems..

^ onetime I was using a scrap piece as a stopper for a file, and after a couple of passes I could feel puffiness under my eyes and realized i was cutting into the cocobolo

'Shame too because cocobolo is also one of my favorite woods..
 
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