# The Wrath of Cocobolo



## mot (May 8, 2007)

Hi folks,

It's been a long long time since I posted. I've been reading and viewing, with great interest, the topics and projects posted. Great job everyone!

I've been away from fine woodworking for several years. Life got in the way and due to a variety of circumstances, my shop got buried in clutter.

This weekend I dug it out and decided to play on the lathe a bit. I dug around in my project box and found a cocobolo wood blank that was already drilled, the tubes inserted and glued, and trimmed. I decided to toss it on the lathe and turned a pretty slimline pen. Most of the turning was done by my son who is 13 now and I lent him my respirator, smock and face shield.










That was the happy part of the story. I forgot how allergic I am to cocobolo. The reason that pen blank was ready to turn was likely due to me not wanting to go through the misery of contact dermatitis, swollen eyes and a general feeling of having rolled around in poison ivy. Well, you guessed it. I'm on day three of my misery looking like Rocky after his first fight with Apollo Creed.

I'd offer about 20 pen blanks of cocobolo to whoever wants them, but I'm not touching the stuff again.

I'm glad everyone is busy in their shops and turning out great projects!

Cheers!

Mot


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

Hi there Mot,

Good to hear from you. Sorry about the reaction to the wood!

Stay well my friend.

Lee


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## Fresch (Feb 21, 2013)

I'll send you some gloves you send me some blanks! LoL
Looks like your setup for a purchase for your sons ppe.


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## RobHannon (Dec 12, 2016)

I have not tried cocobolo yet, but bubinga and rosewood both make me miserable for 4 or 5 days. Next time I have a project with one I plan on starting an OTC allergy med for a couple days prior to see if it helps.


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## Radish (Apr 11, 2007)

Do good to hear from you again. Sorry about that cocobolo reaction.
I've been doing some workshop archeology myself.


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## TomFran (Jun 19, 2007)

Hey Mot,

Good to hear from you. I hope you get over your allergic reaction and can get back into your woodworking.

Take care!
Tom


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## USCJeff (Apr 6, 2007)

How unfortunate. My favorite species. I don't work with it a lot or in great quantities as it's not exactly cheap, but it turns well and made excellent chess pieces years ago. Walnut is what I have to be careful with. Love it and use it often. I don't forget protection when using it though.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

MOT !!!

As soon as I saw the title I thought, "isn't there a story behind that?" 
Yup 


13???! Wow


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## mot (May 8, 2007)

Nice to see the usual bunch of bandits respond!

Cheers!


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## mot (May 8, 2007)

Yes, Debbie, that little terrorist from my shop is now 13!


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

Mot: I found the same problem the third time I turned it.
First time nothing
Second time some redness around the cuffs of the shirt.
Third time hands, neck face, and breathing problems.

Stayed away from pens. I've done a couple of small board pieces, Desk clock etc to use up some stock I had. But I did the sanding outside with lots of fans.

Keep well.


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## xeddog (Mar 2, 2010)

Sorry to hear about your "affliction". Do I assume you son didn't have any negative reactions to turning it?

Wayne


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## mot (May 8, 2007)

My son did not have any reaction, but it took a few exposures for my reaction to show up. I decided to deep clean the shop and rid it of all stock that I had in case his allergy appeared.


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## Mattg43 (Feb 9, 2018)

This isn't really encouraging - I just tried turning a pen last week, and about 24 hours later my eyes were super puffy, light rash on my forehead and cheeks, a bit more around my lips, and my forearms all had rash.

I was hoping it wasnt a reaction to cocobolo, but the more I read, the more I fear.

No reactions to it in the past year, quite a few pieces turned, but then I took a few months off of using it, and its like it was mad at me…

My next plan was to grab a piece, cut it with a hand saw, and push the cut against a patch of skin, and see what happened. I love the wood, so I want to make sure it is the problem before I do the same thing and get rid of all I have stashed.

Having just dealt with this, I wish you the best. For me, a Cortizone 10 Maximum "easy relief applicator" was handy.


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## mot (May 8, 2007)

It sounds familiar to how my reaction started. The thing that gets me is I'm not allergic to contact with it. I am incredibly allergic to breathing in the dust and 2 days later BAM!


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Sounds like I am one lucky SOB  I've been shaping a handful of cocobolo saw handles. Haven't worked with anything else yet that's given me any kind of reaction 

Man that sucks. It's some wonderful stuff.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

I don't believe I'm allergic to any wood, but if one inhales dust from any wood, there will be an allergic like reaction. I don't think that is a positive allergic reaction. Everyone has sensitivity to dust, pollen, etc. It's just the amount that makes the difference. When I'm doing a lot of sanding, that night , I feel congested, but the next day, I'm alright, so that is why I don't consider myself allergic. I'm not saying there is not a true allergic reaction to some materials; I'm sure there is, but what some may call an allergic reaction, may not be an allergy at all.

I remember many, many years ago, I had an allergic reaction to shrimp. My face swelled up like a balloon, but a shot from a doctor and that was it. I still eat and love shrimp and have never had a reaction since. That was around 70 years ago.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

I used to work with all the exotics bulbinga set it off for me. I'm very sensitive to many and most anything that come out of SouthAmerican rain forest. I've had the pleasure of working with woods not listed and impossible to know how to spell.
But the good news for me Cherry,walnut,Hickory,maple,alder are perfectly acceptable woods.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

Timely post….

I just turned a pen with Cocobolo for the first time this week… the blank gave me a really beautiful pen… one of my best.

I turn on an adapted bench top metal working lathe with power feed… so I can hold a shop vac with a HEPA filter right over the cutter and catch 95% of the chips right off the tool. But when I drilled the blank I immediately thought "that's a different smell" ... not obnoxious… but very pungent and immediately recognizable.

The finish I get right off the lathe is very good, so I can go straight to 600 grit, or even straight to the micro-mesh some times. But I wasn't using the shop vac while sanding.

Hope I don't get sensitized to it, because I'd like to get some more blanks and turn with it again.

Thanks for posting your experiences, I'll ware a dust mask next time and be careful about skin contact.

Please LMK if you want to offload the blanks.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I'm afraid all of you guys will have a violent reaction to Cocobolo the very next time you try to work with it. I'll be PM'ing all of you my mailing address. I feel very strongly that you should all send me all of your Cocobolo stock so that I can make sure it's "disposed of" properly ;-)

I have no issues with Cocobolo at all. I've worked it several times without any issue. Same with any other exotic or domestic wood… EXCEPT Bolivian Rosewood. It's a mild reaction but any dust that comes in contact with exposed skin becomes an itchy rash for a few days. It takes a couple of hours usually before it manifests and since it's the only wood that has done it, I tend to forget. I forgot last week. I had to pee while I was working with it. I walked out into the backyard and took care of business. Fill in the blanks… Was an uncomfortable couple of days there…

The moral of the story (and it is a true story!) - Rosewood ain't for weenies!


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

A buddy of mine, who is a professional turner and instructor, turned black walnut for years with no problem.

Then he started experiencing nausea, lung congestion, burning eyes, skin irritation, the whole nine yards when he was turning black walnut.

Now he can't stand to be anywhere in the shop if there is any black walnut around. He is okay around finished turnings, but if there is speck of black walnut dust anywhere in the shop he needs to head for the door.


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

sorry to hear that, its one of my fav's also,love how it turns and finishes.ive got a life time supply i inherited from my dad.just hope that problem doesnt pop up for me,alergies can develop later in life,knock on wood.


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