Thread: sickness from bloodwood

Hi
I read somewhere recently that ALL Australian wood dust is now classified as a danger to your health.

Take care, Allan

there is a web site that lists the differant illnesses caused by various timbers and it is quite extensive. If I can remember the address I will let you know. might be worth doing a search

Basically don't breathe dust! Wood is not as bad as many but lots of wood dusts cause health problems.

http://www.ubeaut.com.au/woodstuf.htm

Bloodwood : Satine
Excessive salivation, feeling of thirst, nausea

http://www.workershealth.com.au/facts023.html

I read somewhere recently that ALL Australian wood dust is now classified as a danger to your health.

there is a web site that lists the differant illnesses caused by various timbers and it is quite extensive. If I can remember the address I will let you know. might be worth doing a search

Strewth, you are on the site and don't even know it. The link is... http://www.ubeaut.com.au/badwood.htm

Neil

You know what they say Neil....
Couldnt see the wood for the trees.
Cheers, Allan

http://www.triton.net.au/products/resp.html;)

The topic of dealing with dust often crops up. I have worked out a system that by passes all the problems of fine air borne dust which is the harmful stuff, especially with stuff like MDF.

I have installed a large centrifugal blower scavenged from an old roof mounted evaporative air cooler. It is mounted in the end of my workshop at ground level furthest from the entrance and blows outward.

The amount of air it shifts is phenomenal and all airborne dust simply vanishes out into the garden. The layout of my shop has all the dust producing equipment toward the 'suck' end.

It didn't take me long to work out the air circulation in the shop so that bench work with a router or sanding or spraying sends the harmful stuff in the general direction of the blower/sucker.

Bandsaw, jointer, thicknesser are all located at the suck end, dust just diappears and chips fall nearby.

I either sweep the chips toward the sucker or have a cleanup by blasting the floor with compressed air.

Same goes for spraying. My shop is almost completely dust free.
These kind of blowers dont cope with ducting, there is too much air flow loss.

Never have to worry about harmfull nasties. Too bad if you are not in a temerate climate though.

Ray

Hi,

Oldblock, I'd be interested to see a pic of your extraction system if you can post one, sounds interesting and worth a look.

Another problem that isn't mentioned (comes under "eye irritation" I guess) is "pterygiums" ( I think that's the spelling). These are growths caused by dust - dirt or wood dust - that grow in your eyes. I have them and they need removal or will grow over the iris and cause blindness. So worth spending a coupld of dollars on goggles.

Seems all but a few problems from wood are associated with dust - I assume in the "old days" before routers, belt sanders, etc when most wood was cut outside and then planed there were few problems - very little dust (just shavings) and most saw-created dust just hit the floor or was blown away...unless oyu were the apprentice unlucky to be under the log on a two-man saw operation, then you spent your days catching dust!

Darren

Originally posted by Oldblock
The topic of dealing with dust often crops up. I have worked out a system that by passes all the problems of fine air borne dust which is the harmful stuff, especially with stuff like MDF.
...

Ray

that sounds like a good setup. Unfortunately, my shop is in the basement, and its very cold here in winter (northeast USA).

The shavings from power tools are not a problem as the dust collection system is pretty good, its really sanding that does it. Guess i should just wear a mask.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Darwin
[B]Hi,

Oldblock, I'd be interested to see a pic of your extraction system if you can post one, sounds interesting and worth a look.

No can do, Darwin, although I might be able to draw something with Autocad and then convert it into something that will reproduce here.
The setup is quite simple. The blower is about 600 dia by 450 wide, it draws air in from both sides. It is powered (in my case) by an old washing machine motor although if can source a scrapped aircon unit with motor this would save a lot of adapting.

Air flow is what it's all about.

unless oyu were the apprentice unlucky to be under the log on a two-man saw operation, then you spent your days catching dust!
Hey I'm not that old! My dear Dad was down in the pit when he was an apprentice sometime around 1905

Ray

Thanks Oldblock - I think I can visualise the exhaust. Will keep something like this in mind for when I get my workshop set up next year.

No offence meant on the sawpit analogy - I was referring to the generic "you" as to apprentices at the time, not your age specifically! )