Cocobolo Flooring Information
Cocobolo flooring is one of the most durable flooring options you can choose from. The chart below details some of the characteristics that make cocobolo flooring such a good choice.
Description |
Variegated tones of red orange and purple with darker to black contrasting grain lines. Grain pattern often swirly and or burl like. Sometimes strait grained but usually in larger trees.
Weight from about 61-75 lbs per cu. ft.
Typical Width = 4" to 7"
Typical Length = 3' to 5'
Cocobolo wood originates from three countries; Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The wood that comes from these three area each have their own unique characteristics:
Mexico: Mexican Cocobolo
- Kiln dries well less check prone
- Beautiful red orange with heavy black and purple lines
- Some fully purple with orange red and black lines
- Very little brown orange material
- Slow growing tight ring growth beautiful figure
- Most material is harvested with men, chainsaws, and donkeys; very little impact on environment
Guatemala: Guatemalan Cocobolo
- New emergence of this type recently in the past 6 or 7 years
- Less check prone than Nicaraguan
- Beautiful figure red orange color with black and purple lines
- Some material brown orange less appealing look
- Less impactful logging
Nicaragua: Nicaraguan Cocobolo
- Check prone
- More difficult to kiln dry
- Often beautiful red orange color with slight brown orange color
- Harvested with modern logging methods that impact its environment negatively
- Some is plantation grown with wider ring growth & less intense figure
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Country of Origin |
Mexico, Central America, and areas of northern South America |
Botanical Name |
Dalbergia Retusa or Dalbergia Granadillo |
Other Names |
Granadillo (Mexico), rosewood, cocobola , cocobolo rosewood |
Mechanical Properties |
High mechanical strength in all categories. |
Janka Hardness |
1136 |
Working Properties |
- Cocobolo machines well with sharp hand and power tools
- Moderate blunting effect on cutting edges which must be kept very sharp
- A reduced cutting angle is required for planing or molding and the surface can be rendered very smooth to the touch
- Must be pre-drilled
- Use Epoxy for best result
- It takes stain and can be brought to an excellent finish
- Difficult to glue wipe joint w/ acetone or denatured alcohol and use 2 part epoxy for adhesive.
- Water based finish only other likely not to stick
- Swirly grain more likely to tear out
- Spiral cutters are quite effective
- Dust can be an irritant on skin or lungs
- Proper safety precautions advised
- Will darken with exposure to UV light
- Must take care to not expose to excessive dry heat
- End grain especially susceptible to checking
- Very hard to dry below 12% mc
- Quite workable at 12%- 16% mc but finished product must be kept away from excessive dry heat
- Material thicker than 2” very likely to check
- Wiping joists with acetone or denatured alcohol will decrease resin on joint surfaces
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Durability |
Very durable and resistant to preservative treatment. |
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