Ziricote - difficult to bend or work?

[Daniel P]

I have a good friend who's interested in commissioning a Ziricote OO - but before I jump in I'd appreciate hearing people's experience working with it.

Any specific challenges bending Ziricote?
Glueing or finishing issues? From what I have read there is rarely if ever an issues with oils in the wood.

Similar dust concerns with Cocobolo?

[Bob Matthews]

They don't call it Mexican crackwood for nothing!

It is extremely prone to splitting, so very careful seasoning is essential as is careful humidity control.

Many builders who use ziricote flood the wood with ca to re-enforce it and to fill any cracks already present.

Personally, I have only used it as fretboard material so don't have any bending experience, but I haven't read anything that says it's difficult to bend.

As far as dust goes, I don't think it's nearly as toxic as cocobolo, but as always take good precautions.

Ziricote can produce an absolutely stunning guitar, but it's not for the faint hearted and it might not be a bad idea to have a sister set at the ready in-case of any mishaps.

Bob

[Dave Bagwill]

You could also find some thick veneer and use the vacuum bag option - we've done that with Eric's ziricote guitar and it works very well. Just sayin'...