wood alergies

[bigben]

Alright fellas that are callmakers.  I have recently started working on a knife for me which is my second.  the handle is made out of african blackwood.  I did most of the shaping yesterday afternoon on a belt sander and started doing some of the finish sanding yesterday as well.  This morning I woke up and looked like bop after his bee incident. 

now yesterday I went right from work and went home and washed my face and took a shower.  I had a hunch that it would happen because the last knife I made that was for my father I got a serious case of dry skin.  I figured it was amplified by being out in the woods hunting a bunch for rifle season.  I washed my face again with a product called tecnu which is something I keep at the house for poison ivy.  and within a half hour the swelling subsided and now only my one eye is bad.  if you guys have ever seen me I have squinty eyes anyhow.  it doesn't take much to swell em shut.  I took some zyrtec because that is the only allergy medicine I had and went to work.  now sitting here I feel good with a little puffiness. 

what I am wondering fellas is how you guys work with this stuff and don't end up looking like your attacked by bees?  only place it is effected is my face.  everywhere else I am fine.  so what is the deal? 

[vvarmitr]

[THO Game Calls]

Different woods affect different people in different ways.   Some woods you can even build up a tolerance for.

I can only speak for myself here.   I learned which woods affected me through trial and error.   I don't think you can know until you actually work with one.   I have a few that give me sever reactions, a few that give me mild reactions and some, like cocobolo I have built up a tolerance for.  I don't think you can know for sure until you try.   Wish I could give you a better answer.

The only woods that I know will make you sick, even kill you, are natural splated woods.   Unless you wear a respirator, and have a very good dust collection system, sooner or later, they will absolutely hurt you.

One other thing to keep in mind is how some exotic woods are cured.   Some, are buried in piles of dung to speed the drying process.   The toxins absorbed by the woods can be bad for you as well.   

For hand shaping, you might consider gloves and long sleeve shirts, and full face shield.   Perhaps something like Ivy Block on your face and neck would help.

Another caution is if you use a shop vac to clean up after.   If you have reactions to the dust in the wood when turning it, be very careful when you empty your shop vac if you have used it to clean up that dust.   

An option is to buy stabilized wood, which might help prevent the reactions from sanding and turning, and is really the only safe option for splated woods.

AL @THO
THO Game Calls Forums

[bigben]

Well I do most of the work at work.  we have a vaccum system that kinda sucks up the majority of the dust but not much.  I figured I am getting the most of the brunt when using a power tool.  after that I doubt the hand sanding is doing much to effect the dust getting on my face.  I might have to come up with a system at home that has a shop vac right there at the belt sander sucking the dust as I ruff it in.  I do enjoy making knifes but I don't know if I will want to deal with the allergic reaction every time.  thanks for the help guys.  the swelling is gone now and just a bit of the rash remains.  that zyrtec is some good stuff. 

and here is a pic of the knife. 

[Yotehntr]

Actually Ben I believe it's like poison ivy... you become sensitized.  Each encounter gets worse. Cocobolo has that effect on me.. I've turned one from Coco since it closed my eyes... I wore gloves, goggles, and a breathing filter... just not worth fooling with.  I'd stay away from it if I were you, to many other nice woods to work with. 

[Jimmie in Ky]

These types of woods call for diferent handling methods . Using a bandsaw to cut them instead of the table saw . Do most of your shaping with blades instead of sanders. Do everything you can to keep dust out of hte air. This is if you jast have too.

I say stay away from them as well. Most woods you just need a dust mask to keep from breathing in hte small particles. But some have oils in them that are simply toxic in about any form. Jimmie

[pitw]

  If'n you guys don't quit it your going to scare the call blowers 

[FinsnFur]

They already have.
I've turned away from a lot of custom calls in the past cause I'm afraid of my eyes rolling back in my head and my ears draining blood.

[Hawks Feather]

I have been pretty lucky and have only had a couple of very mild reactions.  I do wear a decent mask whenever I work wood - especially walnut which is one of the woods that bothers me.  So far, knock on wood, Blackwood has not caused me any problems - except for the fact that the fine dust goes EVERYWHERE.  I have a dust collection hose by the lathe and it still is all over the room.

Jerry

[HaMeR]

Walnut bothers me too. But only if I use a planer or do a lot of sanding. Turning it I have been OK. The call makers seal all the wood so as long as you're not chewing on it you should be OK.

[weedwalker]

One other thing to keep in mind is how some exotic woods are cured.   Some, are buried in piles of dung to speed the drying process.   The toxins absorbed by the woods can be bad for you as well.   

And we put them in our mouth? 
Them plastic store bought calls are lookin better all the time.

[KySongDog]

One other thing to keep in mind is how some exotic woods are cured.   Some, are buried in piles of dung to speed the drying process.   The toxins absorbed by the woods can be bad for you as well.   

And we put them in our mouth? 

That reminds me of Reggie's calls.......