The Steel Guitar Forum

Here is a cocobolo rosewood billet I picked up the other day to play with.
Anyone ever played a rosewood steel?

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All I can think of right now is, "I'll bet that sucker's heavy."

But I can't wait to see what you do with it, Tom.

Therman

I haven't used any rosewood. Is cocobolo the same thing? I've heard of Brazilian rosewood, but I'm not at all familiar with the species. It's a very hard wood, isn't it?? The wood I've used that's hard is purpleheart.

BILL

Therman ... yea, its heavy for sure. The billet is 36 1/2" x 5 3/4" x 2 1/8" and weighs 20 - 25 lbs.

Bill ... cocobolo, (dalbergia retusa), like Brazilian, is one of the true rosewood species.
Its found from Panama, Honduras, up through southern Mexico.
It is a very dense, heavy, and oily wood.
Its said to be a little tough on the tools and kind of a pain to work with, but its got a great tap tone and I love the look of it.

We will see how it goes, I'm always up for a challenge

Aloha all,
Maurie Junod got me a nice pc of rosewood for my lap steel.

I used pieces of binding for fret markers, it seems to look OK, but it is hard to work. BTW going thru second redesign on changer using worm gear to prevent unwinding of devise.
PB

If I remember correctly, cocobolo dust is toxic, wear a mask when you work with it. Beautiful piece of wood.

Many hardwoods are toxic. Breathing the dust makes someone who does not smoke, feel like you just smoked a cigarette. That yucky nauseating feeling. At least that's how I feel around that dust.

I would think a really heavy dense wood would have some good sustain if the rest of the build was done correctly.

I've never worked with rosewood, but that is a beautiful piece of wood Tom.

I think you'de be crazy not to build a steel guitar out of it.

I think you'de be crazy not to build a steel guitar out of it.

LoL ... I'm already a little crazy some say
But for sure, I'm looking forward to doing something nice with it, should be a fun project.

And Gary and Jim bring up a good points, there are many exotic and even common woods that can react to some in a bad way.
It's always best to use proper breathing protection and have good dust collection in place.

Indian rosewood? It sure is pretty. Oops, I just re-read the original post, it's Cocobolo.


Jude

Hi Jude ... they had some nice Indian rosewood in stock too for about the same price.
In the end, it was hard to decide, LoL ... I wanted to take it all home
I'm lucky to have a few good hardwood dealers in the area with a nice selection.

PS; the knob holding the bridge cover on your guitar is cocobolo

Tom Pettingill wrote:The billet is 36 1/2" x 5 3/4" x 2 1/8" and weighs 20 - 25 lbs.

Down where they harvest cocobolo they grind up the waste wood into a powder and use it for an insecticide. It can be VERY toxic to work with. It polishes up to be beautiful. You can even use it with no finish on it.

I have a couple of big chunks of cocobola that is about 60 years old. I cut off a small piece the other day to make a Gretsch stairstep guitar bridge replacement and just marveled at how beautiful the wood is. I place it right up there with Brazilian rosewood for beauty and for sound.

Mighty heavy though and tough on the tools.

So Jude! do ya wear white gloves when you play that beauty. Hi level of envy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gary Stevenson wrote:So Jude! do ya wear white gloves when you play that beauty. Hi level of envy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So make me an offer I can't refuse. And no, I don't wear white gloves, this is my beater.
I read in the archives that the black steels are the best, but I can't decide whether to go with a high gloss or matte. I'll have to check Lowe's and see what's availble in Krylon.

Jude

The last time I bought solid rosewood I they priced it by the pound. Also, it was almost impossible to get at the time because there was a ban on cutting native rosewood trees in Brazil and India.

If I recall, it cost me somewhere around $700.00 to buy the wood to make a four foot coffee table and matching end table. Needless to say, there was no room for cutting errors or waste.

Here is a great site to learn about rosewood and all the different types.

Rosewood Research

I guess my age is showing but when someone says rosewood I think Brazilian or Indian. To me cocobolo is cocobolo. Say cocobolo and I know exactly what you're talking about. As the bard of Avon said, "Cocobolo by any other name......."

Jude

Les Anderson wrote: Here is a great site to learn about rosewood and all the different types.

Rosewood Research

Thanks for the link Les, thats a very good overview of rosewoods.

Brazilian and Indian rosewoods were probably the most commonly used versions mainly due to the larger tree sizes. Larger logs are cheaper to machine and yield larger lumber of course.

Try finding Brazilian and/or Indian rosewood now. If you do find it, cherish it like it's gold because that's the equivalent price you will pay for it.

I used Rosewood on a neck-thru solid body 5-string mando. Before applying the finish I wiped it down a few times with lacquer thinner to remove the oil on the surface. The Shobud Permanent I'm restoring has Rosewood aprons, and Curly Maple tops.

That's a nice piece of wood. I've always favored mesquite myself. It's a very notable and noble wood... great for cooking too

John Billings wrote:I used Rosewood on a neck-thru solid body 5-string mando. Before applying the finish I wiped it down a few times with lacquer thinner to remove the oil on the surface. The Shobud Permanent I'm restoring has Rosewood aprons, and Curly Maple tops.

JB. Good idea to wash the edges of rosewood with lacquer thinner or even better with Acetone to remove as much of the oil that you can so that glue and finish will adhere to it. If you have ever heated up a rose wood finger board to remove frets or a section of the board, the oil that comes out is black and tar like. Hard for glue to adhere to it unless wiped down with solvent. The rag will turn a dark color with the oils that are leached out.

I have several slabs of indian rose wood also. Enough to make a solid Fender style body out of. I have seen a Fender Tele neck made from cocobolo. Heavy as lead and great sounding.

I bet the Shobud wood combination is beautiful.

Bill, the necks are also Rosewood. I usually try to save the original finish, but this one is too far gone.

When George Harrison played on the roof with the Beatles (remember them?) his Tele was all rosewood. I think he later gave away this guitar.

By the way, what a great slide player but I think he used the Gretsch Duo jet......


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