Woodsman1031: Sounds like your wood wasnt as dry as it could have been. Seeing as how your in Tx. I kinda doubt thats the problem.
It was quite a pleasure to work with, wasnt "fuzzy", but I have had cedar act like that. I think another reason is, one particular piece of wood can be a higher quality than another.
The scales are from a piece that had green, brown, and purple in it.
This one was sanded from 100 to 1500 grit, and finished with tung oil, so its like glass...
Thanks for the compliment..