Any advice on working with exotic woods? Such as cocobola and ebony? I want to build myself a new chassis for a Foreplay...and have been thinking of incorporating both cocobola (for the main chassis) and ebony for the footers...or feeters...or whatever they are.

thanks!

enjoy the music!

• click here to see my system

All the problems are worth the time and trouble when the wood looks good in the end.

These things are definitely hard...I think I've used some steel that was softer than the Ebony...sheesh.

One of my wonders about these woods. How do they router? I could imagine that the bits have to be kept sharp...but are there any other concerns?

I have noticed that these woods (especially cocbola) are extremely oily. Thanks for the tip on gluing. Is there any concern to using this oily wood on the top plate of a tubed preamp or tube amp? I wouldn't imagine the heat from the preamp tubes being much of a concern. But, could the heat from a power amp have adverse effects on the oily wood? perhaps drying it out...or...whatever???

Also...some of these woods are sooo darn purty, you'd be a fool to do anything to the finish. But...with that said. Are there enough oils in the wood to act as a natural protectant...or do these woods need to have some sort of finish applied...not to beautify...or to add an effect...but to protect the wood???

oh so many questions??????

thanks!

• click here to see my system

Yep, tons of feature that need work. I have a difficult enough time with veneer let alone C++. The features are not up to me to build in but they are being worked on.

No experience with an oily wood in a hot area. I don't imagine it will be a fire hazard and after you finish the wood it will be pretty much sealed. The natural oils of the wood will eventually dry out, but this shouldn't present too much trouble. As with all natural things anything can happens. The wood could last an eternity just as it is, or the ends could dry out and check. The long time tradition to help the wood to last an eternity is to use a finish that will seal it from the environment. That's why better furniture has at least a few sealer cotes of finish on the inside that will never be seen.

A router wont be a problem. A vari speed router set to a slower setting might be helpful. If the wood is really hard and or knarly. you have to make a few passes to get your cut. If you make a pass or two with a router, I would leave yourself a very small amount that you can make one last pass, as a kiss pass. This lets you glide the piece through the router, (or the router through the piece) with very little force yet maintain even pressure and speed of feed.

Some of the exotics have some very nasty dust when worked and a mask is important. Some people are allergic to exotic woods. Coco bola can be one of them. Never heard of a problem with ebony. well, other than if your blade is not sharp your going to be in prime competition for a smoke show and starting a fire with out a match, along with the
boy scouts

I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on...I always do ;)

• click here to see my system

TC

Dave