# What wood goes well with Cocobolo?



## SeaQuest (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm making a hall table and have decided on Cocobolo for the top. I'm struggling to decide on a good complimentary wood for the rest of the table. Sooo my question for fellow LJ's is, what wood goes well with Cocobolo if I prefer not to stain, leaving the wood the natural colour. Nothing really exotic because I don't want to have to mortgage my home to build the project.


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

I've used both maple and cherry with cocobolo and I like the cherry better. I think the maple creates too much contrast and I think the cherry really compliments the cocobolo.

Be advised that the cherry will darken with age so what you see today is not what you will see 10 years from now, but I still think it is a good choice.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

I agree with Rich on cherry. Mahogany is a nice, subtle contrast as well.


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## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

I had a friend that made a beautiful coffee table from Cocobolo and Figured Maple. He used (i think) two different aniline dyes on the maple to really make that grain pop as well as darken it a bit. It's a very modern looking piece that is really the centerpiece of his room.


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## SeaQuest (Jun 2, 2008)

I've only used Cherry once for furniture and had a problem with it darkening at an uneven pace. The side facing the window became quite dark very fast, while the side facing inside was the original light colour. I kept relocating the piece so it would darken more evenly. This was enhanced because at certain times of the day, it was exposed to direct sunlight. The hall table will not be in direct sunlight so that's a consideration. I hadn't considered mahogany, the contrast would be very subtle. Maple sounds interesting and would be quite a stark contrast.


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## reggiek (Jun 12, 2009)

Any woods in the genus dalbergia (rosewoods) are good combined with cocobolo - itself being in the same genus.

I use walnut or maple for contrasting woods.

African or Philippine Mahogony can seem flat when supplementing cocobolo - mostly due to the tight grains of the mahogany.

One of my favorite pieces is a table with a cocobolo top and a redwood frame. the Redwood - with the light sapwood - really woke up the colors in the cocobolo in that piece…without any dyes or stains…just some sealer and poly.

It really depends on what you want the wood to supplement….cocobolo has so many colors in its palette (it has reds, greens, blues….a real rainbow) that it really can go well with lots of different woods…Ive seen it with macassar ebony (spectacular), gaboon ebony, wenge, blackwood, amboyna….etc…etc…all of them can be combined beautifully.


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## jusfine (May 22, 2010)

I like the visual idea of figured maple…

Let us know how it turns out Jim!


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Let me offer some unsolicited (and perhaps unwanted) advise. When you put 2 woods together in a single piece, one has to be the star and one has to play a subordinate role. If you have 2 stars, they compete for attention.

Cocobolo is a natural star. I would want the other wood to settle into a subordinate role. In my opinion, I would not use a fantastic quilted maple or any other wood that would really draw your attention.

If you concerned about cherry fading unevenly, there are some other soft red or soft brown options. Bloodwood would work but would cost more than cherry (bloodwood might be a little too red for your taste). Mahogany was mentioned and it would be a good brownish option. Plain bubinga would work if you found some that did not have to much grain action. It's a darker red than bloodwood, more like a burgundy. I normally think of ipé as an outdoor wood, but it is a nice light brown with a tight grain that does not jump out at you. It's somewhat like mahogany but harder, heavier and a little lighter in color.

Good luck.


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## Timberwerks (Sep 29, 2009)

I would go with ebonized ash or maple. The contrast of the black against the colors of the cocobolo would work well.


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## MOJOE (Jun 13, 2009)

I have always been a fan of figured maple…..really like the contrast with darker woods. For less contrast, white oak might look nice as well.


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## MOJOE (Jun 13, 2009)

Was looking through some project pix yesterday, and saw one made from Hickory…....not quite as light as maple, but not too dark either…..this would probably work nicely as well.


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## terrilynne (Jun 24, 2010)

Mesquite,cherry,texas-ebony


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## Rileysdad (Jun 4, 2009)

More Cocobolo!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist that.


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Walnut, if you want to go darker, or wenge (although the cost would be more) if you want to go even darker and really complement the darker grain lines of the cocobolo. Mahogany, if you want to go lighter without it contrasting like maple would do.

I'm not sure if you'd be opposed to using 3-species?

Cocobolo for the top, then a lighter wood (but not too light) for the apron/middle section such as ash, followed by either a darker wood than cocobolo, such as walnut, or a lighter wood than cocobolo, like mahogany?


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## BreakingBoardom (Dec 18, 2009)

Alder is fairly cheap around here and is a lighter brown like cherry but as far as I know doesn't darken like cherry. Might be an option.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

marshmallowbolo and cocobolo goes well together as well 

ok, or mahogany (cherry will do well too, but you'd want to tan the cherry to bring it to it's darker redder shades)


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## alnandy (Jun 19, 2010)

One thing that no one has mentioned is that the coco-bolo will change color, i.e. darken, radically within a year; especially if it receives any kind of sunlight. There are finishes containing sunblock, but they only delay the inevitable. Coco-bolo will turn a dark reddish brown and much of the flamboyant grain will become muted.

How does a coco-bolo + ??? piece play out over time? If you combine coco-bolo with curly maple (which I've done numerous times), after a year or two it is the curly maple that has the stronger figure, not the coco-bolo.

If you use cherry or walnut, which also change color over time, you run into the problem that Jim mentioned, the sides of the piece receiving more sun will change more than the shaded sides (cherry gets darker, walnut gets lighter). The coco-bolo, being on top, should change uniformly, as long as no part of the top is shaded.


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## SeaQuest (Jun 2, 2008)

That's very interesting, I had no idea that Cocobolo changes colour. I'm very glad to know that!


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## Boomr99 (Jul 1, 2009)

My own choice would be padauk. I made a candle holder out of cocobolo with padauk legs once (see it in my gallery here ) And I still love how those two woods compliment each other. As some people have stated, you really have to be careful about too much stark contrast. My second choice would be Lyptus wood. You should be able to find some in the Vancouver area, I recently bought some in Kelowna. Lyptus would compliment cocobolo beautifully as well IMHO. I favorited this project that Dave made, hope you don't mind me showing it Dave, It's lyptus and maple with cocobolo inlay. (Here)

Ryan


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## cathyb (Jul 8, 2009)

I agree with RichGreer. Cocobolo has to be the star. Before you consider all the options mentions, which of course would depend on your design and whether or not you want the contrast, look around the rest of the room. What other woods are in that room? You want the cocobolo to be a star, but not so obnoxious that you forget about all the other great pieces in your home. It has to complement all those pieces too…......


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## DonJ (Sep 28, 2008)

I just finished up a charging station with cocobolo and birdseye maple; showed it to several other woodworkers and they all liked the contrast. Birdseye is not as "flashy" as curley, but still adds some dimension to go along with the cocobolo's natural beauty.


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