I would like to pick the brain of someone who has had some experience
working with Cocobollo. I have a chance to acquire a a decent amount
ot a low cost and wanted to learn more about the nuisancess. If there
is anyone out there who's worked with the species shoot me email so we
can take the conversation off-line.

Thanks

On 8 May 2006 13:45:57 -0700, wrote:

I would like to pick the brain of someone who has had some experience
working with Cocobollo. I have a chance to acquire a a decent amount
ot a low cost and wanted to learn more about the nuisancess. If there
is anyone out there who's worked with the species shoot me email so we
can take the conversation off-line.

Thanks

No offense but why take it off-line? This forum (or group) is not here
just to make contact but to trade info.

wrote in message
ps.com...
I would like to pick the brain of someone who has had some experience
working with Cocobollo. I have a chance to acquire a a decent amount
ot a low cost and wanted to learn more about the nuisancess. If there
is anyone out there who's worked with the species shoot me email so we
can take the conversation off-line.

Thanks


I used it to make some drawer pulls. It is a very dense wood and has a
tendency to chip-out easily when working. Some people are sensitive to the
saw dust so use a dust mask when cutting. If you sand it down to 220 grit
it takes on a polished look.

Your shop will smell nice after cutting it!

Good luck.

--
Stoutman
http://www.garagewoodworks.com
(Featuring a NEW look)

In article om,
wrote:

I would like to pick the brain of someone who has had some experience
working with Cocobollo. I have a chance to acquire a a decent amount
ot a low cost and wanted to learn more about the nuisancess

I had a histamine reaction the last time I worked with it, hives,
shortness of breath. Wear breathing gear and wash the dust off your
skin.

I don't do email replies to newsgroup messages.

wrote:
I would like to pick the brain of someone who has had some experience
working with Cocobollo. I have a chance to acquire a a decent amount
ot a low cost and wanted to learn more about the nuisancess. If there
is anyone out there who's worked with the species shoot me email so we
can take the conversation off-line.

You mean aesthetics?

Cocobolo looks drop-dead gorgeous, like a delicious dessert. It
finishes very well, as smooth as you want it to be, and has tiny veins
of glittering silicate tracing through the figure.

Or healthwise?

I haven't determined the allergen yet, though cocobolo is high on the
list (right after metal):

1. Itchy rash on upper chest, inner arms, waistband
2. weird nodules on my hands, especially the index finger and thumb (is
that what a hive is?) and tingling in the hands.
3. No respiratory reaction, however.
4. Later, small patches of skin flaking off my fingertips.

Metal is number one on my list, primarily becase I was last sanding
spring steel the night before I got the reaction (bare hands... no
gloves), because I didn't get a respiratory response (and the
distribution of the rash suggested something spread from on my hands
rather than something all over me like the wood dust would've been), and
because it'd been over a week since I'd last worked with cocobolo.

er
--
email not valid

In article ,
"stoutman" .@. wrote:

Some people are sensitive to the
saw dust so use a dust mask when cutting.

Along with the other replies regarding this, take the above warning
seriously. I know of several turners who have been hospitalized with
their reactions to Cocobolo. It can trigger an allergic reaction that
builds up from repeated exposures to quite serious complications.
From http://www.iswonline.com/wwp/wom/cocobolo.cfm:
Beware of Wood Dust

Although cocobolo is a fine turning wood and most consider it easy to work
with, sanding and machining the wood produces a fine dust that can cause
dermatitis or a poison ivy-like rash. The dust can also cause orange stains
when it comes into contact with skin.

Boston-area custom woodworker Eric Englander agrees that the wood¹s dust can
be problematic. "People I know who use it wear a mask, gloves and long
sleeves when they are working with it," he says.

Albert Constantine Jr., in Know Your Woods, expresses similar concerns about
cocobolo¹s dust. "When working with cocobolo," he writes, "care must be
taken to protect oneself from the fine dust, as it produces a poisoning
similar to ivy poisoning. It can become very painful. When affected, a
person usually has to remain away from work for a week and then may never
again be able to be in a room where there is any cocobolo dust."

Also note that last sentence - it's no exaggeration.
--
Owen Lowe
The Fly-by-Night Copper Company
__________

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
Corporate States of America and to the
Republicans for which it stands, one nation,
under debt, easily divisible, with liberty
and justice for oil."
- Wiley Miller, Non Sequitur, 1/24/05

On 8 May 2006 13:45:57 -0700, wrote:

I would like to pick the brain of someone who has had some experience
working with Cocobollo. I have a chance to acquire a a decent amount
ot a low cost and wanted to learn more about the nuisancess. If there
is anyone out there who's worked with the species shoot me email so we
can take the conversation off-line.

Thanks

I've turned it several times, never used it on "flat work"...

It cuts very well on the band saw and sands well.. It's an oily wood so you will
load up paper faster..
Because of the oil, it finishes (on a bowl, anyway) with just sanding and a trip
to the buffer... looks like hours were spent on a hand rubbed surface!

As with other woods, no 2 pieces of CB are created equal... I've made pens from
2 sections of the same board and one was smooth and the other grainy and maybe
"drier"..

I haven't had any problems with skin or air contact but be careful with any
wood, especially exotics..
Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

wrote:
I would like to pick the brain of someone who has had some experience
working with Cocobollo. I have a chance to acquire a a decent amount
ot a low cost and wanted to learn more about the nuisancess. If there
is anyone out there who's worked with the species shoot me email so we
can take the conversation off-line.

Thanks

I was given a bunch of cutoffs by a dear friend who had a flooring
business (obviously he did other jobs in addition to floors). It is
quite dark until you plane/sand it. I made a couple of boxes out of it,
finished with shellac (if memory serves). I would have to consult a
book or two, but I did wipe the glue edges with alcohol or mineral
spirits or acetone or ?? The boxes are still sturdy (no metal
fasteners). And the color is fascinating: yellow and brown mix. I
didn't have any allergy problems. YMMV so be careful.
mahalo,
` jo4hn