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Sanding wood grips...

4K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Greg Stephens 
#1 ·
Hey all,

I have a pair of Ahrends cocobolo grips that have prominent edges at the top. I want to round them off just a bit. Someone posted here awhile back (IIRC) that cocobolo is naturally oily, and therefore doesn't require finishing beyond final sanding. Can anyone confirm this? If it is true, could I just carefully round off the edges with some fine sandpaper, without any additional finishing required? If not, what kind of finishing work would be necessary?

Thanks much! :smile:

Greg
 
#2 ·
You know that's a good question...I always seal 'em with somethin', even if it's just some satin polyurethane. You can hardly see it, no shine, and it's sealed...Just not sure about that "natural" thing...

I'm sure someone will help us!

:wink:
 
#4 ·
Sand and shape all you want and then blend the finish with 0000 steel wool. I have no idea if Ahrends puts any finish on it or not.

Cocobolo does not require any finish, although you might be able to get a small amount to stick if you leech the wood with acetone first.
 
#5 ·
You might also try what Hogue uses on their grips: Carnauba wax. Just a very little bit on the sanded area and buff it up with a soft wheel in a grinder, Dremel or drill.

Or, you could order the refinish kit, enough for about 2 dozen grips, directly from Hogue at http://www.getgrip.com

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Accuracy Ltd on 2001-06-27 22:59 ]</font>
 
#6 ·
I've read that cocobolo dust (from sanding) is toxic if inhaled. I don't know what concentrations, quantities, etc., are required for Bad Things (tm) to appear, but a San Francisco luthier had some rather dire warnings for me when I wanted to use cocobolo for the body of an electric guitar. I'd take a little extra precaution, though, as sawdust in the lungs is bad enough without the extra toxicity that's rumored.

Has anyone else (any exotic-wood workers out there?) heard of this?
 
#7 ·
I've read that tropical hardwoods have "bad" sawdust, and generally it seems there is a large range of personal responses to a given allergen. As I understand it, diatamaceous earth (sp?) such as shell for inlay is the very worst and should be cut under water to control dust.

I have personally never had any trouble with rosewood, ebony, or cocobolo. I have run full-tilt from a table saw cutting Padouk/Vermillion. It seems that when it burns in the saw it makes something rather like CS tear gas.

I once made a Precision Bass from 2" Oak, but I bet your Cocobolo guitar outweighed it by 2# easy.
 
#10 ·
Well, I went ahead and tried just sanding the edges enough to round them off. The oils in the cocobolo wood must be fairly strong, because after rounding off the edges and sanding them smooth, the affected area of the wood looks no different than any other part of the grips. No re-finishing needed, and the grips are much more comfortable now. Thanks for everyone's help.

Greg
 
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