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When I saw the photos of the great cocobolo guitars that Lance is making, my jaw dropped!!!

I think I will try something similar in a future project of semi-electric guitar.  I would like to know of your experience of using cocobolo with sapwood, regarding ease of working the wood and the stability of the finished instrument, for example.

TIA

Marc

Let's see...a semi-electric guitar...must be a steampunk kinda thing! Man, I'd better get to work on that steam amplification thing...or a Tesla coil pickup...

;-)  I always see the glass as half-empty...

Cocobolo works like most other rosewoods, except that it is oilier, and some people are allergic to it.

Al

Don't breath or touch the dust. Some people have severe reactions.

Marc,
First thanks for the kind words about my guitars.

I love using sapwood accents, I have heard that it can be unstable and sometimes can exhibit checking.
I must be living a blessed life, so far, no problems for me.
I have used Cocobolo, brw, and Malaysian blackwood all with some amount of sapwood.
I did have one cocobolo guitar crack about two years after it was delivered, but oddly enough it was -off- the sapwood well in to the heart wood.

I will continue to use it, but will add a disclaimer to "use at your own risk"

Also the tip of protecting your self (skin and all) is a good one. Until you know how your body will react to some of these "known" toxic hardwoods its a good idea to keep your arms covered (long sleeves) and ALWAYS wear a respirator when sanding. A paper mask is a good second choice.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I agree with everything Lance said except... A paper dust mask is a lousy second choice. They give a false sense of security while providing little actual protection.
Get a good respirator... It's fun to spend $50.00 on a good chisel. A good respirator is a less appealing purchase, but unless you have a spare set, I figure your lungs are worth the investment.
Sorry Lance... I don't like to disagree so vocally, but I have some experience in this matter.
Cheers Y'all   Dan

on the guitar building course I did, one of the students reacted badly to the coco set that he was building with.

the tutor took it off his hands and did all the sanding, then returned it after it's 1st coat of finish.

he was teased mercilessly about having to play it wearing rubber washing up gloves.........

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I love sapwood accents. I haven't found them to be any less stable than heartwood. I'm not sure why the opinion is out there that it's more unstable, it's just not as old as the heartwood, and never got a chance to get the pigments. (but I could be wrong...)

I'm with Daniel on using a respirator. If you love cocobolo, then protect your lungs from the get-go with one, not with a paper mask. Cocobolo is a "Sensitizer" meaning it's effects will gradually work on you until you're allergic if you're not already sensitive to it. A paper mask will let too much dust in.

Protecting your skin and lungs will give you the ability to work with it for a longer period of time. I personally have over a dozen nice sets of it, and don't wish to have to sell them because I've not taken precations to use it into the future.

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Only badly."

Dan, you are right, paper masks do suck, but they are better than nothing and I guess that was my point. Up until just a few weeks ago, that is all I ever used.

From here on out though, a full respirator is what I will be using. That and a long sleeve shirt.

I have two reasons for wanting better protection, one is that I know cocobolo is a sensitizers, and that eventually I will develop a reaction of some type. Second, Id like to keep working with it for as long as possible, so I had better get with the program and do a better job of covering my butt!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Rick: no stealing my steampunk geetar ideas!

Looks like we were typing at the same time Don

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Great minds...

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Who Says? 

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thank you all for the good advices!!!  Now, let's go wood shopping!!!  ;-)

For spraying I use the 3M dual filter respirator. It has a nice soft silicon rubber face seal & is very effective.
It is reasonably comfortable, but I sure wouldn't want to wear one for hours at a time.

For dusty operations I use a "bite block" escape respirator similar to the one you will find at the address below.
These respirators use a snorkel tube instead of a face contact seal. Much more comfortable for long use times.
Since there are no vapours to deal with, you don't need to have a charcoal cartridge. I empty out the charcoal & securely tape two layers of high quality (I use the 3M ones) paper dust mask over the front of the cartridge.
These respirators have their own hazards... They get really grubby & need to be cleaned every day to prevent a buildup of some pretty nasty bacteria.
They also collect saliva & will dump great globs of it on your workpiece if you're not careful.
It's not a perfect solution, but until I can get a good, air supplied hood I will continue to use mine.

Here's the address for one manufacturer.

http://www.websoft-solutions.net/escape_respirator_breathing _respirator_p/norsf-7902.htm

P.S. Has anyone noticed that we're not talking about sapwood any more???
Sorry Mark... We seem to have gotten off track.

No problem Daniel, I got the info I needed....  and one never has enough info about health issues!!!  ;-)