# bad color to cocobolo



## RDH79

Why is my cocobolo turning this color.  Is thisclose to the sapwood or what. I just bought 30 blanks for anorder and this will not do. Maybe that's why the stuff was totallt covered with wax. Or is it like purple will get darker over time. I don't think my luck is that good


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## edstreet

Photo please.


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## Ruby pen turning

Turn the blanks to your final size for the pen that you are making and let them set in the garage where they can get sun but not direct sun. They will change color and darken.


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## Russianwolf

Cocobolo darkens with time. Oxidation and UV light being the reasons for the changes.

Turn a piece round. Cut a couple small pieces and place them in different places with different amounts of light. You'll see what we are saying.


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## RDH79

Sorry about that.  Internet has been down here since last night I am trying to do this on my phone and the battery was going dead. Anyways here is a pic


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## Alzey

Ruby pen turning said:
			
		

> Turn the blanks to your final size for the pen that you are making and let them set in the garage where they can get sun but not direct sun. They will change color and darken.



This has worked for me in the past


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## Holz Mechaniker

I have had some awesome color with Cocobolo only to see it turn even more so as time went on.


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## Ruby pen turning

You applied Ca already?


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## mrcook4570

Set them in the sun for a few hours and they will darken to the color you saw before you turned them.


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## RDH79

Ruby pen turning said:


> You applied Ca already?



Yea I already have CA on them but I can that it off.


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## RDH79

I forgot to mention The back side of the blanks have not to bad of color to them


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## Russianwolf

RDH79 said:


> I forgot to mention The back side of the blanks have not to bad of color to them



Could be one of two things.

1) you drilled the blank off center and the dark side was the portion that was closer to the outside of the blank.

2) If you take a fresh cut blank and lay it somewhere, the surfaces will all darken with time. BUT the surfaces that get more air and light will darken further  into the blank than the surface that its laying on that receives little of either.

I'm attaching a pic of a piece of Cocobolo with sapwood near the top. This pic was taken when fairly fresh turned, so its pretty light too. The sapwood will stay pale, same as with African Blackwood which is in the same family.


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## plantman

Sorry, but I have a large amount of Cocobolo and have never had any that light or with that grain pattern. Mine range from reds to browns to almost black with an uneven grain pattern. If you incounter any sapwood, it usualy is pure white and adds contrast to your piece. I have made handles for antique tool replacement for many years and have never noticed any turning lighter or darker. I also have Stanley hand planes over a hundred years old that I have restored the handles using Murphy's Oil Soap and 0000 Steel Wool. They come back just like new without destroying the patina . I once ordered 10 blanks of rare "mottled red cedar" from the internet. The photo posted showed beautiful figured wood. When it arrived it was 10 pieces of pure white cedar. No grain, no figure, And no red mottleing at a cost of $30. I never could get a reply from this jerk, and just wrote it off as a learning lesson. You may not always get what you paid for. Now that I said all that, here is what Cocobolo should look like according to my Encyclopedia of wood.
"When freshly cut, the heartwood is an array of colors from lemon-orange to deep rich red, with variegated streaks and zones of yellow, orange, and brick red.These mature to a deep, mellow orange-red, with darker stripes and mottling. The sapwood, clearly defined from the heartwood, is almost white in color.The grain varies from straight to irregular and is sometimes wavy. It has a fine, medium, uniform texture". Dalbergia retusa, also known as granadillo, or Cocobolo comes from the Leguminosae family. It is a hardwood that grows along the Pacific seaboard of Central America from Mexico to Panama.
Jim S


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## RDH79

There cocobolo I just got them yesterday from west penn hard woods. This pic is after ca so they were a lot lighter.


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## plantman

*Cocobolo color*



RDH79 said:


> There cocobolo I just got them yesterday from west penn hard woods. is after ca so they were a lot lighter.


 
 My best guess is that they were mismarked, or someone didn't know there woods where you purchased it. Looks more like Tulipwood, Sen, or something in the ash family.
        Jim S


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## nativewooder

Cocobolo also grows in Nicaragua and grows much faster than Cocobolo from Mexico, which has a much tighter grain.  The Nicaraguan Cocobolo has less color and more open grain.


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## seamus7227

CHECK THIS OUT, i had the same thing happen to me!


COCOBOLO TRANSITIONS


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## leehljp

I had a few blanks that were covered in wax that were like that. Since I had done quite a bit of cocobolo that was bare wood, I figured that the wax coatings had something to do with it. I certainly could have been wrong but that was the only difference that I knew of. It was as though the thick wax coatings leached out the color before it was turned.

IMO, cocobolo does not need protective wax coatings as a preservative on raw blanks as it is already oily. (Again, I could be wrong.)


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## NC Wood Art

+ 1 on the Mexican Cocobolo vs Nicaraguan


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## EricJS

plantman said:


> RDH79 said:
> 
> 
> 
> There cocobolo I just got them yesterday from west penn hard woods. is after ca so they were a lot lighter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My best guess is that they were mismarked, or someone didn't know there woods where you purchased it. Looks more like Tulipwood, Sen, or something in the ash family.
> Jim S
Click to expand...

 
I believe this is cocobolo. I've had pieces of mexican cocobolo that were very dark red & black in places and very light yellow in others. panama cocobolo is even lighter.


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## edstreet

This is why I have a bandsaw,  this is why I buy blocks of wood and cut them myself.  Also why I like to see the item before buying it.  Not always possible mind you but here is my thoughts on this.  Pen blanks are small.  You need something very tight grain to show up good due to the small volume of  the pen blank.

This does not look like most of the cocobolo that I have or worked with.  It could be from another location to mind you.

The thumbnail images I attached is mexican colobolo, there was no colorchange it that at all.


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## greggas

A few years back I bought some cocobolo that was light like your photo .......I think it was just a lighter species .....if I recall it was called was not from Mexico


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## gimpy

If you can't or don't want to us them, send them my way,
I'll take care of them for you


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## EricJS

EricJS said:


> plantman said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> RDH79 said:
> 
> 
> 
> There cocobolo I just got them yesterday from west penn hard woods. is after ca so they were a lot lighter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My best guess is that they were mismarked, or someone didn't know there woods where you purchased it. Looks more like Tulipwood, Sen, or something in the ash family.
> Jim S
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I believe this is cocobolo. I've had pieces of mexican cocobolo that were very dark red & black in places and very light yellow in others. panama cocobolo is even lighter.
Click to expand...

 
I forgot to mention that the pictures I posted are Mexican Cocobolo. As others have mentioned, it will certainly darken over a short period of time. 

Please re-post your pens in a few months so we can see the difference.


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## RDH79

gimpy said:


> If you can't or don't want to us them, send them my way,
> I'll take care of them for you



Hey Gimpy how are you? Great to meet you a couple weeks ago. Might take you up onthat.
I will get frt and back pics later


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## RDH79

*Grip or not.*

Thanks Guys for the replys. Here is the last post. Here is a pic of the blanks and one turned round plus one that I wanted them to look like had it from another batch of cocobolo.  The orangish one have cocobolo grain and turn but are not the dark like have turned many times before.
Do I have a grip to where i got them??
Thanks
Rich H.


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