Cocobola for a back?

[folms]

went to the big city today ,went to the lumber yard looking for maple and got some cocobola..I couldn't pass it up. Can I use it for a back on my next mandolin? What do they use for sides with it? Can it be bent? What should I look out for?...anything I need to know using this wood? Has anyone used it before for a back? I know its not traditional but it was so beautiful.
Thanks
Folms

[ShaneJ]

I have an old Alvarez Yiari guitar that has cocobola back and sides. I played Martins, Taylors, etc. for months before I found the guitar that sounded like what I was looking for. I bought it in 1986 and I wouldn't sell it for anything. (well, make me a ridiculous offer & I probably would http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif )

It's beautiful wood too. I've always wanted a mando to match.

I'm not sure, but I think that breathing the dust is bad for you, BTW.

[Mario Proulx]

The dust is very bad, so protect yourself. About 15% of the population is allergic to it, so be careful until you know you're okay. Then, take extra precautions because it is also a sensitizer, meaning the more you expose yourself to it, the more likely you are to become allergic to it. Nasty!

But wonderful!

I've done probably 20 or more guitars in Cocobolo(that's 'bolo', not 'bola' <g>) and am doing one mandolin right now. The wood bends readily and easily, though it is stiff, and needs to be wrestled a bit harder. But what a bear to carve! I've been at this one on and off for months, and still haven't got it done. I'm thinking of tossing it aside until I have a CNC setup to finish it off!

But, it surely can be done, even completely by hand; just takes patience and time(I'm low on time!).

Michael Lewis has done some extremely nice mandolins in Brazilian RW, and Cocobolo is a close cousin of it(Cocobolo is a true Rosewood...), so maybe he'll chime in with more help than I've put forth, here.

Mario

[folms]

Thanks for info guys, I also read that there is glueing problems with it,and you have to use Gorilla glue I guess. Anybody have any feedback about this? I'll be sure and wear my mask. I suck up enough dust during work,besides, Thanks a bunch.

[Michael Lewis]

OK, I'm back from the Grass Valley bluegrass festival, and you folks have just loaded up my evenings trying to catch up with everything. #Yes, I have made rosewood mandolins, and it can work very well. #The carving is the biggest obsticle, as it tends to get resin all over your tools and dull them a bit too. #One thing about cocobolo and Bz rosewood is that it scrapes beautifully, leaving a very smooth surface. #Keep your tools very sharp. #As for gluing, just scrape the gluing surfaces immediately before gluing with hot hide glue. #There are lots of "suggestions" to wipe the surfaces with various solvents before applying glue, but that just brings resins to the surface and contaminates the clean surfaces. #Smith adhesives in Richmond Calif. makes a "tropical hardwood epoxy" if you would feel safer, but hide glue should be pretty good. #

These woods are very heavy and stiff so should be carvedthinner than usual specs for maple. #You will have to use your own judgement here. #Mario Proulx did some R&D work using brown paper bags to make "gaskets" to fit between the rim and the back so it could be zipped off to make internal changes. #Pretty clever those Canadians. #Bz Rw bends much easier than cocobolo, but you need to get them both hot. #Watch out for all the 'tree goo' that oozes out while bending. #These woods can test your patience, but the results can be outstanding if you persevere.

[Dru Lee Parsec]

For guitars, I think Cocobolo is the KING of tonewoods. Cocobolo, Dalbergia retusa, is a true rosewood. (Any wood of the genus "Dalbergia" is a true rosewood). It's a dense, oily wood with a specific gravity of 1.1 which means it's so heavy it will sink in water. But the tone it has is incredible! Every time I tap a piece of cocobolo it sounds like I'm playing a marimba. It just rings!

Here's a piece from my stash

http://www.brouelette.com/dulcimer/images/cocobolo2.jpg

That's Pretty!

[folms]

Thanks for the info guys. Sure is pretty Dru,I tryed to get a picture of the piece that I have, but it comes out too dark to see the grain, but believe me its amazing,I think I'm gonna use this for side material,Its quit straight grained with streaks of yellow,and black. I ordered a 2x6x18 inch piece from the lumber lady in Yuma it should be here in a couple of days,I'll of course have to resaw it,and am not quite sure how my little 12" Jet will react to this stuff. I resawed a couple of billets of Quilt maple with the table saw,just ran it through from both ends,than through the thickness planer and it worked quite well,might try this method for this also. Heavy isn't the word for it, if you were a lifesaver and had to save this piece of wood, I believe it would take you under with it. Does it bend about like Quilt Maple or is harder to do? The quilt was a real bear over a pipe, but I just had to learn to be more patient. What about this ooze Michael, are you saying that its not safe to get on you? I'll be using a blanket system when it comes time to do this one, and I quess welders gloves are standard attire. Thanks for all the help.......

[Michael Lewis]

Well, the wood is a sensitizer, so try to avoid getting any dust on your skin or in your nose and lungs. #Some people are very allergic to it, so don't be too cavalier about working with it. #I have had no problems using it, but that is my individual case. #The goo that comes out of the wood when heated can get on the outside of the wood and stain it, also it will get on your blanket and metal strips, so wrap the wood in paper to absorb the stuff as it comes out. #I use toilet paper for this as it is so absorbant. #If you take a good magnifying glass to look at the end grain you will see the pores, and most of them will be full of what looks like plastic or glass. #This is the tree goo that oozes out when the wood is heated, and there is a lot of it.

[Dru Lee Parsec]

And if you use a drum sander to sand your sides then keep a crepe bar on the sanding belt almost 100% of the time. It will gum up a belt in a flash.