Smoking Cocobolo

I have had this happen a few times. I don't think it was the wood or atleast
normally.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.

It's something I've been buying wood for, for almost 10 years. Little bit
here and a little bit there. Finished what I needed last winter when a local
Paxton's had a cocobolo sale. The chair takes about 35 to 40 board feet of
8/4 stock to build so I wince a little when I think what my total bill must
have been. But it's my favorite wood and the chair came out like I hoped.
I'll try and take some pictures over the weekend and get posted (been
meaning too for a while).

Gary in KC

"patriarch [email protected]>" <<patriarch> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Gary A" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> > I just finished a rocking chair done in cocobolo.
>
> Gary, you must have a much better source for cocobolo than I have seen
here
> in California. That would be one SERIOUS bill at the wood merchant here,
> for a rocking chair.
>
> I'll bet it's gorgeous! Post some pictures on APBW, please?
>
> Patriarch

On Fri, 20 Aug 2004 16:25:38 GMT, "Gary A" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>It's something I've been buying wood for, for almost 10 years. Little bit
>here and a little bit there. Finished what I needed last winter when a local
>Paxton's had a cocobolo sale. The chair takes about 35 to 40 board feet of
>8/4 stock to build so I wince a little when I think what my total bill must
>have been. But it's my favorite wood and the chair came out like I hoped.
>I'll try and take some pictures over the weekend and get posted (been
>meaning too for a while).

at a minimum of 600.00 that's a lot of wood for a chair (G) that's a battle with
cocobolo getting dry stock. I seldom find 8/4 stock that is dry.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.

I just finished a rocking chair done in cocobolo. The only problem I have
working with it is that it doesn't exactly make sawdust when cut, it makes a
"saw-powder". The dust is so incredibly fine and powdery that it gets into
everything. Is it possible since you didn't have your DC system on, some of
the "powder" was smoking on a hot motor?

I love working with cocobolo - it's one of the prettiest woods out there and
works very easily. But the mess it makes when machining is pretty
incredible. It took forever to get my shop clean again after I finished my
rocker.

Gary in KC

"Robert" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> This isn't what some of you are thinking (at least not what my fellow
> woodworkers in the sf bay area are thinking). I haven't worked much
> with cocobolo, but I'm making a hand plane out of it and was cutting a
> 2.5 inch thick piece on my table saw the other day (a 3hp Grizzly
> which did not bog down in the least and cut through it like nothing)
> and I noticed that for about 10 minutes afterwards there was smoke
> coming up from the tabelsaw blade insert. Now, this did produce a
> nice rose-like aroma (I now nderstand why rosewoods are called
> rosewoods), but I am a bit concerned about burning down the shop since
> it is afterall in the basement of my house.
>
> Anyone had a similar experience? My guess is that some of the oil/wax
> in the wood sticks to the blade, the blade gets hot, oils and wax
> start burning, smokes starts rising... (I didn't have my dust
> collector on when I did this -- it's outside and it's not nice to turn
> on at 10pm -- the neigboors don't like that too much.)
>
> Robert

I have to second that. I am in northern Califorlornia too and my son
recently purchased a 2"x2"x18" piece of cocobolo for something like $25. He
brought it over and used my bandsaw to cut a couple of pieces to make a
knife handle, and my garage smelled like burnt chocolate for days. I too
would be interested in pictues of a cocobolo chair.

Wayne


"patriarch [email protected]>" <<patriarch> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Gary A" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> > I just finished a rocking chair done in cocobolo.
>
> Gary, you must have a much better source for cocobolo than I have seen
here
> in California. That would be one SERIOUS bill at the wood merchant here,
> for a rocking chair.
>
> I'll bet it's gorgeous! Post some pictures on APBW, please?
>
> Patriarch

> I opened up the side of the table saw cabinet and there wasn't any
> smoke coming from the saw dust pile. It really seemed to be coming
> from the blade ...


Me knowing nothing about it, sounds like it's the natural oils in the wood, burning
with a high speed cut. So slower speed, lowest speed. take your time at it.

Alex

"Robert" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> rosewoods), but I am a bit concerned about burning down the shop since
> it is afterall in the basement of my house.
>
> Anyone had a similar experience? My guess is that some of the oil/wax
> in the wood sticks to the blade, the blade gets hot, oils and wax
> start burning, smokes starts rising...

Well I did a Homer Simpson when I was trying to sharpen a hoe on my
stationary belt sander and set the dust inside the sander on fire.
Fortunately, my shop is my garage and I carried the sander out to the
driveway and emptied the smoldering sander dust.

Larry

[email protected] (Robert) wrote in
news:[email protected]:

<snip>
> (I didn't have my dust
> collector on when I did this -- it's outside and it's not nice to turn
> on at 10pm -- the neigboors don't like that too much.)

My wife thinks that I should use handtools only after 10 pm. I've asked my
neighbors if they heard any machine noise, and they said no, no problems.
Of course, the fellow across the street is the one who showed me what a
Unisaw was, and lead me down the path....

Patriarch

"Gary A" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> I just finished a rocking chair done in cocobolo.

Gary, you must have a much better source for cocobolo than I have seen here
in California. That would be one SERIOUS bill at the wood merchant here,
for a rocking chair.

I'll bet it's gorgeous! Post some pictures on APBW, please?

Patriarch

John <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> More likely you had a accumulation of sawdust and a bit of something
> HOT got in and started it smoldering
>

I opened up the side of the table saw cabinet and there wasn't any
smoke coming from the saw dust pile. It really seemed to be coming
from the blade ...

Robert

More likely you had a accumulation of sawdust and a bit of something
HOT got in and started it smoldering

John

On 19 Aug 2004 12:28:48 -0700, [email protected] (Robert) wrote:

>This isn't what some of you are thinking (at least not what my fellow
>woodworkers in the sf bay area are thinking). I haven't worked much
>with cocobolo, but I'm making a hand plane out of it and was cutting a
>2.5 inch thick piece on my table saw the other day (a 3hp Grizzly
>which did not bog down in the least and cut through it like nothing)
>and I noticed that for about 10 minutes afterwards there was smoke
>coming up from the tabelsaw blade insert. Now, this did produce a
>nice rose-like aroma (I now nderstand why rosewoods are called
>rosewoods), but I am a bit concerned about burning down the shop since
>it is afterall in the basement of my house.
>
>Anyone had a similar experience? My guess is that some of the oil/wax
>in the wood sticks to the blade, the blade gets hot, oils and wax
>start burning, smokes starts rising... (I didn't have my dust
>collector on when I did this -- it's outside and it's not nice to turn
>on at 10pm -- the neigboors don't like that too much.)
>
>Robert

Got a band saw? Wouldn't that like, not have that problem?
Alex