Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi everyone and Happy New Year!

The past few weeks I have been building a concert ukulele using Indian Rosewood. As I am a beginner builder this is the first time working with Indian Rosewood. It is easy to bend and work with but boy it is dirty and dusty. Not the greatest smell either!!

My question is I have a set of Cocobolo and a set of Palo Escrito Rosewood and wondered are these dirty and dusty to work with also? I'm aware that cocobolo can give an alergic reactions to some people while working with it.

I would be interested in some thoughts from those of you experienced using these woods.

Cheers

Alan

Define 'dirty' and 'dusty' for me here...I mean, Padauk just makes your shop orange, but I haven't found rosewood (East Indian) to be all that unique in terms of mess I can make with it. It's easy to work, smells reasonably nice (I think). Cocobolo dust is nastier and - in my limited experience - stickier, because the wood seems to be oilier than EIR.

Dirty dusty I will agree with. Oily, yep. Color bleeding, You bet! IMHO most darker woods are all of these things but I don't consider them dirty . It is just part of the craft avoiding oil and dust transfer. Rosewoods are oilier than most woods and color transfer due to dust and oils is a more prominent issue. Ebonies are less of a problem but their density dulls tools quick. I guess what I am saying is to gain the sonic and esthetic attributes that rosewoods offer we must deal with the sometimes aggravating attributes that rosewoods bring to the table. However Rosewood is no dirtier than maple. It is just darker and you see the dust easier. Oils, now that is an attribute that rosewoods can be knocked for if you are into placing knocks on woods for their dificult attibutes. I may self just look at these attributes as things to deal with and deal with them. If I looked at it diffently I would only build with spruce, maple and mahogany. Wait! i would have to throw out mahogany because of the pore filling, maple for the ease in being stained and spruce due to its softness and ease in denting.

the nastiest sawdust i have ever generated is ebony........

Cocobolo is quite messy and oily but palo escrito is much less so, and has wonderful sonic properties.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Palo Escrito (writting wood)will not give you troubles with gluing ,dust ,etc!
But it can be brittle when bending!
Especially if your sides are not quartered sawn .
I'd use it if you have a nice set-and the worries of the other woods.

MIke

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Mike Collins

Alan, I've built two ukuleles using cocobolo and without a doubt they are the best sounding ukes I've made.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA