Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi

Finished shaping my rosewood sides on bending iron the other night and ended up with a 2 day headache and all i could taste and smell was the fumes the next day.. put me off my beer!!

Could be just a coincidence and definitely wasn't a hangover (honestly)

Got me thinking though...as a hobbiest I can't afford a dust extracter and it is a small workshop on back of my garage...so wondering what other hobbiest use or worry about health wise while building?

P.s I use a respirator whilst sanding but hate it ..

Bad? They can be. Some folks are sensitive, others not so much. Here's a list of some to watch for... look under Dalbergia.

http://www.library.davidtilson.com/mate ... c_1.html#D

cheers

YES, THE ANSWER IS YES!
If you can smell it, there is particulate entering your respiratory system. Any foreign matter in your respiratory system is bad. Period.
Don't be that guy, 30 years down the road, with lung problems, wishing he had worn a respirator.
*End of rand*
(but seriously, I speak the truth. Don't mess around with this stuff. If you know a botanist, ask them about the toxicity level of rainforest plants. All plants have some level of toxicity. That's what protects them. Most likely won't kill you, or even show immediate symptoms. But do you really want to be putting that in your lungs?)
*end of rant for real this time*

Fumes are not particulates. They can also include gases which would be the product of incomplete combustion. So you need a respirator that adsorbs VOCs with activated carbon. The same type of respirator used for painting fumes.

Weren't rosewood oils a very large part of the perfume industry in the early part of the 20th century? I've even heard conjecture that its popularity in perfumes was responsible for the decimation of the Brazilian rosewood forests.

Steve

Any wood releases toxins when burned, so be careful with all woods from pine to exotics.

Alex

_________________
"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

That rumor won't die. The rosewood oil used in perfumes is derived from an unrelated tree, Aniba rosaeodora. It's relatives include the tree that cinnamon is produced from, as well as our sassafras tree, Oregon myrtle, and avocado. It is not related to the Dalbergias--the "rosewoods" of guitar building. I don't know that the aromatic fumes from rosewoods are harmful. Certainly the dust is a health hazard and an allergen.

Used dust collectors are cheap.
I recently sold a small 1hp single bag for $100C.
Try CL or your local want ads.

_________________
My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

A dust collector probably won't help too much with fumes. You could switch to a heat blanket and/or bend sides out doors. Or avoid woods that give you a headache.

Personally I've never worried about fumes from bending wood but I've never had a bad experience. But dust yes. The chemicals in the wood dispersed in the dust can absorb through your skin and jack you up.

Personally I worry a lot more about breathing super glue, epoxy and finish fumes. I only have dust collection- no air scrubbers or air handling at all in my garage. I wait for 50%-ish humidity and open up the garage door when I use those type of things.

If you had, or think you had, a reaction to rosewood fumes then use caution as in a respirator. No science needed. I'm with Paul.

_________________
Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Symptoms gone now but will definitely use my respirator next time and have as much fresh air as possible. .
Must be allergic to it

Smart, all rosewood are of course are somewhat different. Cocobolo is said to be one of the worst, but how you react to a sub-species is what counts

_________________
Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust