I'm alergic to Cocobolo, ebony, bocote, cedar, yew, and I'm sure I'll find others. Just the dust when I'm sanding/grinding; I have dust collection, / resipatory protection, the good rubber jobs with the changable carts... but...
Ebony, pretty much shuts off my windpipe like easy off oven cleaner does to me. I hate the stuff.
Cedar, gives me severe nasal itching, sneezing, but I like the smell so much I use it, it's worth it.
Cocobolo gives me etreme excess nasal mucus production to the point I nearly drown in it. But it's pretty and cutting it really greases up the wheels of my band saws.
Bocote same as cocobolo,
Yew, dust makes me sneeze uncontrolably, make my eyes well up (not because it smells so good it brings tears to my eye either) and makes my skin itch.
Bolivian rose wood almost like cocobolo just not as bad.
Weird stuff, I'm telling you.
-mike
Seems I remember the Ferret saying he was having a lot of physical problems he later traced to an allergic reaction to wood dust.
Also read this:
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=000547;p=1
Sounds like you made a bad career choice! :) Kinda like a plumber who is allergic to water. Ipe is the worst for me, but not too bad.
Most wood dust makes my eyes itch and my nose run. Afterwards I feel like I can't breath. Several months ago a read about the toxic affect of wood dust from some species, and the health problems they can cause, so I puchased a good fitting dust mask with appropriate cartriges depending on the job and a better dust removal system for my woodworking tools. Lifes to short to take it for granted :)
Fiberglass and phenolic dust are bad. Zebra wood makes me feel sick.
I know whatcha mean Mike. Only my reaction seems to depend on the time of year or something more so than the type of wood. Crazy stuff!
Here is a website that lists woods and their most common toxicity. Some woods are quite poisonous.
http://www.hobbywoods.com/wood_toxicity.htm
Many woods clog up my nose, but I think other dust does that too.
Leopardwood is aweful to me. I read somewhere that you can't gain a resistance to it, rather your response gets worse each time. I have hives that last for weeks when exposed to the dust!
Osage does some crazy stuff to my sinuses and makes my lungs itch. Only when sanding the fine dust is what gets me.
Red oak makes me get the sniffles and sneezes. Too many years helping dad build cabinets I guess.
bamboo is really hard on ya to
Allergic to wood? Not as far as I know.
I have astma and I'm especially allergic to grass and dust mites, though.
Although I dont see it used in the Bowyer's world, Desert Ironwood gives me a sinus infection if I inhale even a little. I make sure I have my respirator on tight when im working with it.
When it first gets into my lungs i get a bit dizzy then that is usually followed by the above mentioned sinus infection. Its about the only wood that really gets me.
I kinda like the smell of Coca Bola, smells like pepper and cinamon to me.
after a few month of sawing cedar shingles in a mill I developed a real itchy rash under the shirt cuffs..where ever it worked the dust into the skin..always wore a dust mask though.
Walnut gives me a headache,western cedar (not a bow wood)a bump on the back of my neck. I use dust collection for every job anymore.
Other than that,not yet.....
Walnut makes me sick for a week if I don't use a repirator.
Dan Raney
in my case bulletwood dust(massaranduba) burns in my eyes, throat and nose. oak and hick burns aswell and closes my nose for a couple days. so i bought a vaccuum-cleaner with a fitting for my beltsander.
I have not used Ebony yet - have some for a job coming up, but i have heard wild things about it.
Im finding that leopard wood gets me, a burning rash type itch.. Cedar gets my eyes which makes me HATE firing up the shafting machine.
Wenge dust (first time i used it without a mask - and last time without a mask) messed my breathing up pretty bad. But since - not a problem.
Dave
SiegeWork Creations
Cocobolo gives me a severe reaction on the skin. My eyes will swell and I will get a rash.
Cocobola is the worst for me but most other natural woods are arent to nice to me either, rash, flu like symtoms ect.. Thats why I use Dymondwood handle sections and Actionboo limbs. If you can get by the man made toxins/chemicals in the woods it's not so bad! :rolleyes:
All exotic woods and domestics are toxic to us all in certain amounts. Just as the epoxy resins we use are desensitizers so is wood dust. The degree that it will affect us is dependent on many genetic and local factors, but the most important thing is that you protect your skin and respiratory system with the best clothing suitable and an "N 95" particulate respirator approved by OSHA
Here is a link too a pfd file about occupational asthma wood working dangers osha (http://www.lohp.org/graphics/pdf/wooddust.pdf)
I am a fire captain and haz-mat tech,among other things. I use this same respirator for most jobs. its small and for 40 bucks is worth its weight in gold.
Just getting over a bad case of itching (2+ weeks) from lacewood.
Bulletwood made my nose burn the worst of all and Ipe is in second place. Neither are very bad though but I now wear a good, company issued dust mask just to prevent any problems with long term exposure. (We have to get new masks periodically and can take the old one home).
Haven't ever had an allergic reaction to much of anything, even poison ivy. I worked on a railroad gang for a while and everybody else but me was having bad reactions to creosote.
Dennis
Of all things, oak gives me fits. Cocobola lights my nose hairs on fire! :scared: In general, tropical hardwoods contain higher levels of toxins that are released in the sawdust/smoke than domestic hard and softwoods (although they too can be toxic.) I use a respirator, a ceiling mounted air filtration fan, and a box fan with a furnace filter on the back of it pointing out the window. I also hook up a shop vac to my bandsaw and sander. It's kinda' overkill, but my family has a history of severe illness and death due to lung complications, so I don't take any chances.
Bocote makes me itch like mad, and mansonia makes my nose run like a water faucet. I don't use either anymore, which is a shame because I really like the look and smell of bocote.
Also there's this one certain tall green weed that grows on my lot and when I pile it up and burn it it makes everything funny and it gives me the cravings for fig newtons. I have no idea what it is. :confused:
Had a new one today. I was cutting a 3/4"X36" dowel into 3" lengths at work to use for fuse blocks and got a bad headache after cutting about ten pieces. The wood had a 'different' smell to it and had come from China. Don't think I'll be buying any China dowels for personal use.
Dennis
Hey dennis...what kind of reactions were guys having from the creosote?