Sanding Cocobolo - Damn, it is a pain

[glasalle1]

I am "attempting" to sand down 2 sets of cocobolo that I want to use on my next 2 guitars on my Performax 10-20 sander. I was able to get the sides down to about .078ish, which is where I was looking for (between .075 - .080). Wrt backs... now these are giving all kinds of issues. Chewed up the 80 grit paper i had in the sander pretty quickly. Switched to 60 grit. Chewed that up too! And still working on the first set of backs. This RW is hard as hell, oily, and a pain. I have the backs down to about .100. I am shooting for .090ish. Now, back to changing another roll of 60 grit paper on the sander!

A couple pics of the RW:

IMG_4366.jpg

IMG_4367.jpg

Glenn

[glasalle1]

BTW, so far, no issues with allergies. Doesn't seem to bother me. Even though it doesn't bother me, I do not plan to buy any more Cocobolo sets - just in case.

Glenn

[tippie53]

it is wicked

[0018G]

Sure is pretty, tho. Years ago I commissioned a 17" jumbo 12 string from a luthier in Iowa, and it is made from some stunning cocobolo. Don't know that I'd try it myself based on it's reputation for being hard to glue, but I'm a wuss.

[glasalle1]

Re: glue, My plan is to scrape or sand and glue right afterwards with fish glue. That's if I can get these darn plates to the right size.

Glenn

[MaineGeezer]

Have you seen the "Lasts 7X longer!" sandpaper sheets? They're either from Norton or 3M, I believe. I'm not sure what the stuff lasts 7 times longer than, but it definitely works better and lasts longer than aluminum oxide paper. More expensive, of course, but I think the improved performance is worth it.

There is also some "Lasts 3X longer" paper, also good.

Re: Gluing. Fine Woodworking did an article a while ago in which they compared gluing methods for oily woods. They found that wiping down with solvent to remove the oil didn't help, it may have made the problem worse because it brought oil to the surface. Gluing immediately after sanding, as you plan to do, was about as good as anything.

My luthier friend cleans oily wood with ZipStrip paint remover (the old formula lethal variety) prior to gluing. He claims the stripper chemically breaks down the oil on the surface so it can be removed without drawing more embedded oil to the surface. His guitars stay together, so there may be something to it.

[glasalle1]

Update: I jointed the back after finally getting the back down to size. I had no issues glueing - just glued up fresh from jointing (I use an old Record #5 to joint). I am also happy to report so far no issues with reaction to the cocobolo!

Thanks,

Glenn

[watergunn]

I have done several Cocobolo builds in the past year. I just wipe the area to be glued with acetone a couple of times until the oil does not show up on the rag.
Let it sit for a minute and then glue.

I use titebond on Cocobolo. I tried fish glue once and the braces did not glue very well. After that I have just used titebond. Probably just did not get enough oil out in that case!!

Rick Gunn

[Diane Kauffmds]

You have some beautiful wood there and I'm sure that you'll be glad that you built your guitar with it. I'm working with WV black walnut, which is extremely well seasoned (most likely 50+ years); it ate up 40 grit paper.

I finally tried 3M's Pro Grade, Precision paper, which can be found at most big box stores. They make it a 7X and a 10X paper. It's far superior than any paper I've used to date and works well on ridiculously hard wood, even Gabon ebony and black walnut.