Working with treated pine: Precautions

[antisense]

G'day all,


I have recently purchased some old ammo crates from a salvage yard that would make nice tool or toy boxes if fixed up properly.

I think they were made by ADI, as they housed tank rounds, but I'm not too sure. Anyhoo, they are made from pine and I am concerned that perhaps they are made from treated pine. Is there anyway to tell?

If I am going to sand these back, I will obviously be wearing a face mask, but I am just wondering how dangerous the sawdust is. I don't have any dust extractor setup or anything like that.

I'm probably just being ultra paranoid, but I really don't want to make anyone sick.

Advice anyone...

Cheers,

antisense ^_^

[keith53]

With no dust setup of any sort, I'd suggest getting yourself a Triton respirator. They're self contained, not expensive & work really well. You can use them for a multitude of things.

[meerkat]

hi antisense,

apart from the green colour, I don't know how to tell.

When it comes to the health of you and yours, if in doubt leave out.

Don't risk either short or long term exposure.

[jow104]

Antisense:

I have had a fair amount of experience working with reclaimed timber, you do need some filter arrangements. Also check for hidden fastenings.

One problem not perhaps mentioned before is that I have found treated timber can be a problem in its dust path through machinery. The wood dust because of its preservative elements can be sticky (most proabably heat exchange) and clogs up saws and their extraction systems.
This leads to rapid blunting of blades (they overheat also motor doesn't like the excess strain) and clogged extraction.

[antisense]

Thanks guys,

I'll endevour to post a pic soon. (Sooo damn busy)

Maybe you can tell by looking at it.

Cheers,

antisense ^_^