Man, some pretty scary stuff here. I'm gettin a respirator for sure!

Yew is one of the very worst toxic dusts, osage, walnut, ipe, many exotics are all possible irritants. Some seem to build up to an exposure level that makes you super sensitive or allergic.

The most effective masks have a power pack, blower and filter that forces fresh filtered air over your face. These can cost about $300 but may be worth it if you plan to play with toxic wood dust regularly.


Dust collection, air dust filter, mask etc are all good. Also, remember that dust is created by sanding and sawing. Working with sharp hand tools like scrapers and draw knives does not create dust.

Good topic.  I am experiencing right now lung problems.  Over 20 yrs of bow building I have become allergic to Osage dust. If I sweat around the dust my skin burns. This never happened last year.  My tolerance gave up the fight. I also make quite a few Yew bows which really makes me hack and cough. I am now wearing a dust mask which fogs up my glasses but a mask is what I have to do. I never wore a mask because I didn't need to, I always tried to keep the dust down. What I would like to say to everyone is do it right and wear a mask.

Port Orford cedar is particularly bad. That's why Acme shafts are "burnished" instead of sanded. It will put you down in a hurry.

I must be getting old, is 61 old?  I have played with all kinds of wood dust over the years. Love Osage, love Port Orford arrows, have done Walnut, Black Locust too. Only wood that really did me in was the IPE. And it did me in good.

Have made up my mind, that I will not quit making wooden bows and arrows. But you can bet I will take all the precautions from here on out.  

Great thread indeed.

Roy, I'm there too. We're not old, just mature. You're only old when you give up.  

I hear you on the ipe; I druther stick my head down a porta jon than be exposed to that stuff again!

LOL Mike.. And Don, I hear ya Brother:)  

IPE is a great wood for Bow's. But not for this old phart no more.. Once was enough..

about all them woods you listed there are listed in the tbb 4th edition as having prblems and i think it lists the problems that each wood species gives you so you might look that up and see. good luck

With all of this talk and me having some problems these days with an upper respiratory infection that hasn't been helped (or was caused) by doing some wood sanding, I decided to do some research for a good respirator.  Figrued I share what I found with you guys.

I think I've settled on the 3M 7500 series half mask.  I plan on getting the P100 particulate filters for it.  These filters are supposed to be great for dust and also work for some oil based particles.  Since we seem to work with some oily woods, I figured these would be better than the N100 filters (not for oil-based particles).

The 7500 series is kind of the top of the line, but still only about $20 for the mask and $8 or so for the filters.  You can get cheaper masks, but this one seems to have a few more bells and whistles and the price isn't bad.

You can also add some organic vapor filters to this setup for spraying finishes and such.  

Here's a link I found very useful:
 wood whisperer on wood dust