Cocobola

[melogic]

I have a piece of cocobola that I am making a pen and pencil stand out of for a friends desk. I do not want to put any polyurethane on it if I don't have to. Can I use linseed oil on it to seal it? The piece is about 6"L x 3"W x 1"T. I want to preserve it, but I do not want it to over power the pen and pencil set I made for it. The set is made from cocobola as well. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[woodman928]

I use cocobola for the handles on my street organs and never even put a finish on them they get better the more I use them I would just use a good wax and buffing system after sanding to 400 or more.
Jay

 

[melogic]

I was wondering if I needed anything or not. The wood is naturally shiny and kind of oily looking. I think I will use some HUT liquid wax and buff it pretty good. Thanks Jay.

 

[tipusnr]

I have a turned box made from cocobola and put woodturner's finish on it when I finished it. I use it on my desk at home to hold paperclips and its holding up well. The only reason I put a finish on it at all was that the natural shine was uneven.

 

[Bev Polmanteer]

Okay Jay, you have my interest! What is a street organ?

 

[Doghouse]

Jay, you are an organ grinder? I have not seen anyone with one of those in years. Do you have the monkey for your sholder?

I turned some cocobolo last night for a couple of wall street pens. Nice stuff. I finished them with laquer followed by buffing and carnuba. The wood has some great colors and figure. Micromesh was able to polish it to a nice satin finish due to the oils in the wood.

 

[woodman928]

Bev
They call them street organs, Crank organs, Monkey organs, and of course the wrong name for them is Hurdy Gurdy. I build them from scratch they have 20 notes and 20 pipes and play a paper roll like a player piano.

Doghouse
I have a little voice activated Monkey that I call George. To many people compline about being mean to the Monkeys, that and I hear they are a pain to own.

I might be able to post a picture on here if its ok with the group as its not pen related.

 

[Doghouse]

Melogic,

Sorry for the thread hijack. Jay, I doubt that there would be a problem if done in the casual conversation / off topic area.

Melogic, back to your question if possible try to use the same finish on both the pen / pencil and the stand. That way they will all be the same. If you have any problems or questions with a sprayed laquer finish, just let me know.

 

[melchioe]

I generally don't put finish on cocobolo. At first after sanding all the way with MicroMesh, it looks a little like there are open pores. But after a while (only a week or so) with even minimal handling, it sort of finishes itself, and handling makes it look even better. I've seen cocobolo turnings many years old that look wonderful with no finish...

Some finishes are difficult to put on it anyway due to the oily nature of the wood.

 

[melogic]

Thanks everyone for all of the tips and suggestions. As soon as I have them completed, I will post a picture. Doghouse, not a problem. I don't consider information sharing, hijacking. Afterall, that's what this forum is all about, sparking new ideas, questions or just plain old curiosity. Thanks again everyone.