Smoking Cocobolo

[Robert]

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

[Lawrence L'Hote]

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

[AArDvarK]

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

[Glenn or Carolyn ELLIOTT]

I make name cutouts from exotic woods (see site below) and have noticed the smoking problem with certain woods with high oil content. I also experienced a painful 3-week rash from rosewood dust and finally had to take steroid meds to clear it. Cocobolo is one of the worst for toxic woods problem. A fellow woodworker told me the denser and heavier and oilier the wood--the more likelyhood of rash. Be careful!

Glenn

MODEL STEAM LAUNCH:

MODEL AIRPLANES: BIRD PHOTOS: MADE FROM EXOTIC WOODS:

[patriarch]

[e-mail] (Robert) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

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

[Steve Knight]

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

[Gary A]

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

[patriarch]

"Gary A" wrote in news:NnmVc.2892$ [e-mail]:

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

[Gary A]

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 [e-mail]" "Gary A" wrote in

[John]

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

John

[Steve Knight]

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.

[NoOne N Particular]

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 [e-mail]" "Gary A" wrote in

[Robert]

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

[AArDvarK]

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