has anyone out there ever dealt with sanding cocobolo ?
I need to thin and true the board on my fretless build , this wood should be called ' oil wood ' it just clogs sandpaper ?

Yep. :rollno:

Lots of time, work, and stacks of sandpaper. That's all I can advise.

If you can get access to a planer, it'll make things go a lot faster.

Yeah, time, work, and sandpaper. Cocobolo is a really nice wood (when youre done working with it) but I cant say I appreciate working with it, not as much as, say, walnut or mahogany. Patience and a dustmask my friend. good luck.

isnt the dust that comes off cocobolo toxic or something?

I dont know about toxic, but a whole lot of people seem to have weird reactions (allergic perhaps) when working with it without a mask. Sometimes just getting sawdust on your forearms can be enough to mess you up. I ended up at the Hospital not long ago from working with Gombeira without a mask. A guy I know ended up at the hospital simply cuz of basswood. strange. Wear a mask with any wood cuz any kind of sawdust aint too good for your lungs, especially if its a wood youre allergic too...

i am so glad i have no allergies..

Walnut really bothers my skin, nasal passages, and eyes. Cocobolo did not, but it did make me very tired. I sanded my fingerboard down from flat. It took a dog's age.

Get some scrapers.

This stuff works really well for cocobolo or any oily wood for that matter.
http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/pc-12066-819-mirka-abranet-6-dust-free-sanding-discs.aspx
It's a porous mesh so you can clean it easily with compressed air, and it has a longer sanding life than most paper.

i am so glad i have no allergies..

Great that you are not allergic now but it doesnt mean that you may become allergic to some wood in the future...

Cocobolo is a sensitizer so you may become more sensitive to the dust with exposure. I have not found a way to keep it from clogging abrasives which is why I have not used it in a while. I used to run it through a planer and hope that would do the trick.

This stuff works really well for cocobolo or any oily wood for that matter.
http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/pc-12066-819-mirka-abranet-6-dust-free-sanding-discs.aspx
It's a porous mesh so you can clean it easily with compressed air, and it has a longer sanding life than most paper.

Now that's a really good idea! I wonder - would the mesh for sanding drywall would also be good?

This stuff works really well for cocobolo or any oily wood for that matter.
http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/pc-12066-819-mirka-abranet-6-dust-free-sanding-discs.aspx
It's a porous mesh so you can clean it easily with compressed air, and it has a longer sanding life than most paper.

Looks cool...what's the backing? How does it attach to the sander? Hook & loop?

That’s affirmative, it uses hook and loop technology. The looping material is superfine, so the paper is actually thinner then most sandpapers. It work well on sanding blocks too.

Anybody have problems w/ yellowheart? Yellowheart dust is like mace to me. It burns my nose and eyes and makes me extremely nauseous.

Anybody have problems w/ yellowheart? Yellowheart dust is like mace to me. It burns my nose and eyes and makes me extremely nauseous.

Haven't had a problem with it myself.

all this and more are great reasons to wear good dust masks or even a filter-mask.