Cocobolo Turning Blanks
On offer are Sustainably Harvested Cocobolo turning blanks I hand-picked 12 years ago intending to turn them into pepper mills, salt & pepper sets, and bottle stoppers. These blanks came from trees purpose-planted and grown on former coffee plantations in Costa Rica. Our shaving brush business took off shortly thereafter; so, they've sat in our humidity and temperature controlled storage area ever since. These pieces were kiln dried when I bought them; so, they should be quite dry by now.
All these pieces are premium quality heartwood blanks. A few show minimal sapwood, but that should be lost in turning. (To give you an idea of the beauty of these woods, I was able to command $300-$500 for matching salt & pepper sets back in 2010-2012.) The 3" blanks are suitable for what I'll call medium diameter turnings like pepper mills, salt and pepper sets, salt cellars, etc. These are wax coated. The 1.5" and 2" blanks are uncoated and make amazing game calls, bottle stoppers, and similar pieces.
We offer this wood at 50% off our purchase price.
About Cocobolo
Cocobolo is a true Rosewood native to Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, It is an extremely beautiful, fine-textured wood that's dense, strong, and very durable. Exhibiting fine texture and irregular grain patterns, cocobolo ranges from dark red to reddish brown, orange, and yellow. Cocobolo turns very well with sharp tools and finishes very smoothly. Cocobolo is an oily wood. I found epoxy to work well, especially in conjunction with mortise and tenon joints.
Health Risks
Cocobolo is recommended for advanced turners using proper safety gear: for example: full-face respirators, long pants, long sleeves, and efficient dust control equipment. This might not be an exhaustive list, as your situation might vary. (In short: use good judgment. It's also a good idea to wash your cocobolo turning clothes separately.)
Cocobolo is an oily wood. Cocobolo dust is a skin sensitizer that can cause skin irritation, dermatitis, nausea, bronchial asthma, nose and throat irritation, and wheezing.
