Has anyone ever seen a stock made from Cocobolo or Ziricote Yucatan ? Sure has some great colors just passing time on E-Bay looking at exotic woods. Bill

The only stock I have ever seen out of cocobolo was one I did a long time ago. I do not have pictures of it but it was very heavy and very pretty. I also put me in the hospital. Cocobolo is toxic. Word to the wise dont mess with it without adequate protection. Meaning gloves and a good mask. There are superior woods for stocks, thin shelled walnut tops the list.

roberts gunstocks shipped in lots of cocobolo in the 60s made alot of stocks out of it

bill, if you don't mind my asking, exactly what happened? how did it affect you? thanks.

Interesting replys I never thought about wood being toxic.It sure looked pretty but heavy I am not interested in heavy now a days I look for lighter. Has anyone ever made one from zebra wood it also looks fine. The most exotic wood I have ever made one from was Kentucky Coffee Bean and Mullberry. Not real exotic but pretty.Bill

Bill Soverns is absolutely correct !.

Make sure if you fool around with exotic woods wear gloves and a respirator preferably constant supply of fresh air type .

Cocobolo is an extreme irritant when abosorbed through the skin or ingested Air borne from cutting or sanding !.

Similar to poison oak except much worse and once exposed you never want to be exposed again , It can cost you your life !.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Bocote or Zircote are hard dense heavy wood .

A lot of Exotic hardwoods would make beautiful stocks if it weren't for their weight and other undesirable characteristics !.
Prime example Snakewood (Guyana or Brazil ) some of the most interesting looking wood in the world although it can be brittle which is a NO NO for stocks .

A wood needs certain elements Strength a Fair weight and Beauty , there are hundreds of species that fall into that category .

Zebrano or Zebra wood will work for a lighter color stock with dark streaks running through it .
Sadly some of the Most desirable exotic colorful bulk stock material will never be seen .
The crotches or stumps are mutilated for charcoal or fire wood by locals after loggers have taken commercial timber .

Depending on color of stock and streaking or fiddle , crotch burl grain amenities one is looking for , I would be happy to suggest a few species .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Dr.K thanks for you opionion on these woods, and yes feel free to give use all ideas about differt woods.

Bubinga wood from Africa has been used successfully. It's a member of the rosewood family and has a light red tint and it's pretty heavy. Colt Sauer used it on its 458 Grand African model. Lou

It would help to know what color of a stock ones looking for before suggesting a particular list of species of wood .
We have Light brown , Red , Black , Green , Purple , salmon , Blond and several woods that are Walnut like in appearances which are not real walnut !?? So it's kind of like naming all the cars manufactured for a 100 years !. need to narrow it down some what .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Its the dust. Not every person may have this severe a reaction. It started with a sore throat, I kept working. In the end I was barely able to breathe due to the massive inflamation of my throat, nasal passage, and main airway. Lesson learned. It is beautiful wood and I would work on it again if not for the hazards. It is however, way to heavy for gunstocks.

Cedar, Cyprus, Redwood and many of the African woods (Rosewood, teak, mahogany, ebony, and especially cocobolo) contain oils that smell good, kill mold and insects and prevent rot. Most of these oils contain plicatic acids. These acids are very irritating to skin and membranes of the eyes, nose and lungs. They cause dermatitis and asthma. The problems may persist after removal from exposure. Use respiratory protection and wash the dust off after using, even in small amounts such as forend tips. (This is a major health problem for instrument makers.)

Roger

Zebra wood sawdust gave me an instant athsma attack a few years ago, making a jewelry box for a Christmas present. Now I have a dust vacuum on my belt sander.

Queensland Blackbean causes huge nose bleeds when you are milling it. Queensland Walnut timber freshly worked smells like dog crap.
I new a fellow that passed away from wood turning for years without respiratory protection. He worked with the state forestry and had access to a huge variety of native and exotic timbers.
He was not a good look before he shuffled off his coil at 52.

I am making a stock out of Hawaiian Koa right now, so I will see how that is, when I get time to finish.

I completely agree with Bill on Cocobola. I love the stuff and use it in forend tips, and I am fine, but I turned a turkey call striker out of it, thinking it was just going to be a quick job. I only wore a regular dust mask and face shield...WRONG. I ended up with pneumonia as a result of the after effects. Now it's full protection every time.

I think Purpleheart would make a cool stock!

PurpleHeart and GreenHeart are excellent woods again to heavy for gunstocks .

Blood Red color ; Bull Oak , Casuarina luehmannii
Australia / Dark Red Brown ;Meranti , Shorea spp. / Red ;

Red Ash ; Alphitonia excelsa /Australia ( Red Orange wood beautiful grain)

Philippine Mahogany ; Shorea spp. agsaboensis. negrosensis . African Mahogany ; Khaya grandifoliola or ivorensis.

White Ivorywood ;Siphonodon australis /Austraila

Blackwood ;Acacia melanoxylon /Austraila

Blackwood African ; Dalbergia melanoxylon

Blackbutt ; Eucalyptus pilularis./ Australia

Cooba ;Acacia salicina /Australia Beautiful stuff not commercially cut .
Crow's Ash ;* Flindersia australis / Australia
wonderful golden yellow wood , can have remarkable grain

Silver Ash ;Flindersia bourjotiana
pale yellow *highly figured fiddle back ribbon grain is not uncommon .

Queensland maple ;Flindersia brayleyana /Australia
Beautiful brown ,highly figured wood not uncommon
not to heavy but strong

Then which walnut or Elm burl fiddle back highly decorative species ?. There are SO MANY most of you have never even heard of let alone seen .

Black Bean / Australia I'd jump on it in a heart beat !. Not commercially cut so word of mouth to find it , then the correct species of it to boot !.
If one knows the color ? I could point one in the direction for that in weight, strength similar to walnut .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

This one is a little different, it's a benchrest stock, but it shows that some of the exotics can be used in a gunstock. Yep, thats purpleheart, padouk, walnut and curly maple.


http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff40/tightneck/2000a.jpg

Though heavy, I always thought figured bubinga would make a beautiful gunstock...

Ken....

Dr.K where did you learn about all the woods of the world ? Very interesting stuff but never dreamed about them making a guy sick. Been a logger for years and have cut about every kind of tree east of the mississippi, while in the woods I always have my eye out for wierd bumps,twist burls ect. I have more junk in the attic of the work shop then carters have pills.

If one doesn't figure weight is a parameter for a rifle stock , then the WORLDS WOODS await YOU !.

With everything going synthetic these days for straightness strength durability as well as light weight . Wood stocks are fast becoming a thing of the past .

Don't get me wrong I LOVE WOOD !.

I've been involved with it near 38 Years now .
Before and during my completion of Education , so as to obtain my Degrees ; I worked in the wood field .
Several different companies in locations all over the world . I was a purveyor of hardwoods for almost every conceivable wooden product one could imagine .
Timber in the Bush to Veneer , along with every aspect in between .
I bought complete trees for as little as $6.00 USD to over $3K per tree .

I more than likely have between 15-20K BDFT of exotic woods stored in my shop . many of which can no longer be purchased .

Now before anyone starts to salivate I have very little in the way of stock Blanks !.
Most of what I have are 5/4 6/4 8/4 random width .
I sold MANY of scants or Beam materials 4X4 6X6 8X8 up to 2X2 Ft. X what ever length . Most went to wood carver guild members ,Turnings carving projects that sort of thing .

I've also worked with it for that long as I have a full facility shop that I used to produce exotic profiles and moldings for the Marine and high end housing industry .

I don't know or pretend to know Gunsmithing wish I knew more ( I'm learning from many of YOU ). I just own a fair number of them and shoot a lot . How ever I KNOW WOOD .

I retired recently from the composites industry so GO FIGURE I know a whole lot about PLASTICS TO .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...