Thread: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Here is some information about timber:

Wood Allergies and Toxicity | The Wood Database

More here:

https://www.google.com/search?client...rgic+reactions

Gab
A sore throat after turning my first silky oak bowl was what prompted me to get a PP respirator . No problems after that .
I suspect you will have a greater reaction with dry wood as it produces more dust . Get some protection .
Ted

Ahh
A tale of two respirators!

As promised, a few photos....

Josh hard at work - he may be a dentist so I can't show you his face (actually, he did tell me what he does for a crust but it was WAY too complex for me to understand....and had a really fancy name)
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Here is my loot for the day, after roughing it down a little more and just before I added about 40 gallons of end grain sealer to everything. I left the tape measure in there as a slight scale. Largest bowl blank is about 600mm dia 250 deep. Some of the blocks (for hollow forms) about 200mm sq 600 long

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And finally the score from a friends shed. Mostly sycamore and ash, with some maple thrown in for good measure. All dry and ready to cut up into useful sizes!!....and this stuff wont make my face puff up!!
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Paul39, thanks for putting those links up. I had read through that material a little while ago, but always great to jog the memory and have it there for others who follow this post!!

TurnerTed - I figured that I would have to go down this path at some point anyway (shouldn't we all??) but I guess I was just putting it off if I could. By the time I'm ready to turn any of this stuff (im guessing a LONG wait til its dry, and given my reaction I don't think I'll try green turning any of it) I will make sure I have the full mask/respirator.

Thanks for the interest!!

Gab

Wow Gab,
First, I hope you have recovered with no ill effects.
I've read of timber reaction but so far have avoided it.
I haven't heard of it for 90/45 or 90/35 one of the common tree species I use s bit of[emoji3].

I remember seeing this on the forum.
And was going to put my hand up .
After seeing your haul ,I which I had .
Can't wait to see what you do with that lot .
If there as good as your pens ,I patiently wait the ten years or so for them to dry.

Cheers Matt

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Wow Gab,
First, I hope you have recovered with no ill effects.
I've read of timber reaction but so far have avoided it.
I haven't heard of it for 90/45 or 90/35 one of the common tree species I use s bit of[emoji3].

I remember seeing this on the forum.
And was going to put my hand up .
After seeing your haul ,I which I had .
Can't wait to see what you do with that lot .
If there as good as your pens ,I patiently wait the ten years or so for them to dry.

Cheers Matt

I'm refurbishing a childcare centre at the moment, I think the kids have dubbed me Shrek! ! It's gone down a bit and isn't as itchy, but my face is kinda peeling....

Honestly I think I'm just going to move it all on to people as there are plenty of timbers I'm not allergic to (thank god 90 x 45 is among them) so I'll concentrate on them. I'll put your name on a few (I hear you're making shavings these days)

Perfect timber to make a cutting board from, for that special relative in your life.

Originally Posted by cava

Perfect timber to make a cutting board from, for that special relative in your life.

Maybe a goblet. .... hey... perhaps that was reason jofrey in game if thrones keeled over!!

Hey mate, I just saw this thread.

I've actually had reactions to Camphor laurel before (instant redness and itching but only from green timber) and since then I started using barrier cream on my hands and arms and this stopped the reaction. The one I use is called Hand Shield Liquid Gloves (Industrial).

The last thing any woodworker wants is to become sensitised to the material we all love working with!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the big block!

Here is what I've done with 5 of the blocks from the smaller tree I cut up on the Sunday...I still have the big stuff to play with! The largest bowl here is about 420mm

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Cheers

Josh

Thanks josh, I'll certainly look into that......
Looks like you have been busy with the green turning, I likr the looks of them.

Was that using a bowl saver as well or just smaller blanks?

Thanks again for your hard work, and the info on the cream.

Gab

No worries Gab,
All those bowls (14) are from 5 blocks using the bowl saver. I saved 4 300mm centres and 5 250mm centres. I had space for larger cores to be taken but my centre saver doesn't do any bigger.

Josh

silky oak can be very nasty, give it a wide berth. I found I can't go anywhere near it, without suffering similar effects to what you have mentioned.

Also to note there are 2 species which are called "Silky Oak". Southern Silky, (spp Grevilliea) is the one I've found worse. However simple precautions have usually been enough for me.
Northern Silky seems to be much less irritant. I built a full kitchen from it w/o any problems.

regards

Originally Posted by Alastair

Also to note there are 2 species which are called "Silky Oak". Southern Silky, (spp Grevilliea) is the one I've found worse. However simple precautions have usually been enough for me.
Northern Silky seems to be much less irritant. I built a full kitchen from it w/o any problems.

regards

Thanks for the tip.... I do have some northern silky which I was about to put in the 'donate' pile..... I won't be too hasty with that one then....