Shop Safety and Alergies

[Darryl Young]

I've had my nose start running while working with woods but so far, nothing more (thankfully). I have some Cocobolo and put the headplates through the drum sander the other day. Didn't seem to bother me but I think I will start wearing a cheap, throw away mask while working on the drum sander to keep fine dust out of my lungs (allergic or not).

[tippie53]

I was lucky but have started to see more reactions with Cocobolo. Most is sinus reaction .

[Herman]

Cocobolo did not harm me yet, but I had some serious astmatic wheezing from sanding Pau Ferro in the past.

Herman

[tippie53]

I find that Spruce tends to dry my sinuses out . There are not many woods that bother me all that much. Ebony is like pepper for me an I can sneeze with the best of them from that .

[MaineGeezer]

I've decided that I'm allergic to walnut dust. After sanding my guitar neck for an extended period, I had a hacking cough and a feeling I might choke on excess saliva.

Does anybody have a dust mask they would recommend? The 3M model 7500 gets good reviews on Amazon, and there are filters available for it that allegedly stop 99.97% of the particles. Has anybody tried it?

[watergunn]

I have to wear a respirator when working Cocobolo. I start to itch, probably all in my head, when I sand it.

I got some dust in a t-shirt last summer and went out to do some yard work. I wiped the sweat off with the sleeves and rubbed the dust in my eyes. It almost swelled them shut!!! Took a couple of days for the swelling to completely go away.

Gorgeous wood though.

Rick Gunn
Rose Creek Guitars

[ColestineGuitar]

I have a friend who get a bad reaction to Purple Heart... This is a very interesting thread, I had no idea such allergies were so common!

[Tarhead]

I've decided that I'm allergic to walnut dust. After sanding my guitar neck for an extended period, I had a hacking cough and a feeling I might choke on excess saliva.

Does anybody have a dust mask they would recommend? The 3M model 7500 gets good reviews on Amazon, and there are filters available for it that allegedly stop 99.97% of the particles. Has anybody tried it?

If you're.talking about the one with the round purple filters on it I tried it and could'nt fit my glasses comfortably. I've been using the Elipse P100 mask the last 3 months and it fits better. It's much smaller and more comfortable than the 3M. As far as which one is better, they both have to pass the same test to label them as whateever filtration. The one you wear is lots better than the one you don't so you should test fit them if you can. If you can't, buy them from a business having a good return policy like Hartville Tools or Highland Woodworking.