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Wood Toxicity


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I'll look for the page I read this on and post it when I find it, but it was similar to the one posted. It said sensitizers like Fryovanni mentioned mostly will not cause any reactions the first time you are exposed, but the following times you are exposed you will possibly have a bad reaction. Here's what I found interersting it said if that wood is a sensitizer for you each additional time you are exposed the reaction will get worse. And here's the worst part, it will not go away, you will always have that severe reaction to that wood and it will always get worse each time you are exposed. No matter if you didn't get near any for 20 years, the next time you touched it would still be worse than the last time you came into contact with it. Just something to think about, don't expect to be able to work with wood you've already had a bad reaction to, ever! And if you seem to be getting a more and more severe reaction you might want to stop using that wood, or attempt to use more extreme measures of protection. Well I'll look for that page now and post it when I find it. Thanks guys for the warning, this was a good idea to pin. Good luck and be careful guys. Jason

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Another Toxic Wood list

Here is a site from the links page over at MIMF. It has what I was talking about. It is worth it to check this out and read through it all. No point in getting sick or worse, stay safe guys. Good luck and I'll talk to you guys later. Jason

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Just for those who are curious, The quote jason was looking for was...

Solid advise! You should be mindful of your exposure to any new wood products you have never worked with before. Some woods are much more likely to cause a reaction (like Cocobolo), but any can cause mild to severe reactions. Be Careful!

Peace, Rich

~~ Slain Angel ~~

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Yeah I'm allergic to Honduras mahogany. I found this out after the begining stages of building my Chris Craft boat guitar. The week of bare wood sanding, I woke up the next morning with my eyes swollen shut, and my body covered with hives.

Three nights later (since I thought it was a severe pollen allergy), after continuous sanding, I woke up with shortness of breath. Two of those nights were trips in an ambulance to the Emergency room.

After stopping the sanding process, it took 2 months for the symptoms to calm down and eventually disappeared. The reaction also made me hypersensitive to common food allergies, which I've never had before. This made things hard to isolate the allergic reaction for my doctors.

Yeah so this is some serious stuff. Now I have to wear a respirator, safety goggles (as always), scarf around by neck, long sleeve shirts, full length pants, and rubber gloves. I'm one step away from looking like a bee keeper.

I may return to good ol' alder, poplar, and maple.

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The only wood I've ever had issues with was Cocobolo. It stings my nose after awhile, however, I love working with it, particularly on the lathe making pens.

Another wood I once had was Ipe. An extremely dense, stiff wood I thought would make good neck laminations, however, when I read on the net it causes dermatitis, some kind of skin reaction, it went in the trash.

It's interesting to read some of my favorite woods like Mahogany and Pau Ferro could cause reactions.

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Good topic to pin!

It said sensitizers like Fryovanni mentioned mostly will not cause any reactions the first time you are exposed, but the following times you are exposed you will possibly have a bad reaction.

I thought I would just clarify a something. When I mentioned you will not have a reaction the first time you are exposed. It is because your body can't have an allergic reaction until it has been exposed at least once. Something my wife Darci explained to me a while back. So point being if you try out a new type of wood and it goes fine the first time you use it, you still need to pay attension the next time. Keep up the good work, and thanks again Jeremy :D .

Peace, Rich

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Just remember that all kinds of fine dust are cancerogenic when inhaled. This includes the fine dust that is being produced in the process of sanding or even sawing wood.

Even the dust from woods that are considered non-toxic could cause serious health problems the worst of them being lung cancer. :D

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And I always thought you had to get hit with the wood for it to hurt you That may explain my sinus headaches, and susceptibility to pneumonia. (just got over it last week for the 4 time in 3 years. )

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I found out the hard way how dangerous cocobola is to sand. I cant work it any more even with a gas mask on. Important also to wash dust off hands before using the rest room. That is all I will say about that.

ooowwweeee! Forgot to wash them after putting Icey hot on my arm once, I know the feeling.

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I have a 1996 Warwick Corvette standard that is cool cause it has the older 100% wenge neck (a beautiful deep rich dark color - almost black). 96 was the last year they made them this way cause they found the workers who did the neck shaping were getting ill from the wenge wood dust.

They now have changed to an ovankel (sp?) neck with just the fretboard made from wenge.

Oh, and it's currently on Ebay btw..........

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