# Toxic Woods



## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Some woods are more toxic than others, but all sawdust is dangerous to your lungs/health. A mask should be worn when performing work that causes any amount of sawdust. The attached PDF file will give you a list of woods and their effects on you.


----------



## Check twice! (Feb 11, 2008)

Hi George

A mask is a must,,,,,, for saw dust as well as spray painting. I have 2 or 3 disposible masks laying about for the short jobs and a good mask for prolonged use.

Thanks George for the reminder, saw dust is not good for the lungs ,,, no sir!


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Thanks George

I wonder why they didn't list presser treated lumber that stuff is real NASTY.
It can kill  but maybe they did and I didn't see it...

====

=====


curiousgeorge said:


> Some woods are more toxic than others, but all sawdust is dangerous to your lungs/health. A mask should be worn when performing work that causes any amount of sawdust. The attached PDF file will give you a list of woods and their effects on you.


----------



## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

bobj3 said:


> Thanks George
> 
> I wonder why they didn't list presser treated lumber that stuff is real NASTY.
> It can kill  but maybe they did and I didn't see it...
> ...


BJ,

Most likely it is not listed because it is man made rather than natural toxin.


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Bob

You must be right on, just like MDF/WoodStock ( made by Dow Chem.) and other man made nasty stock.. 

=====


Bob said:


> BJ,
> 
> Most likely it is not listed because it is man made rather than natural toxin.


----------



## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Thanks for the list and reminder George, even though I'm unlikely to come across most of those species, the dust mask reminder reinforces all of the reminders that I get on a regular basis from my darling wife.


----------



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Keep in mind that this is a partial listing, many species are not shown such as bubinga, yellowheart, redheart, kingwood and zebrawood to name a few commonly occuring exotics. It's always better to be safe than sorry.


----------



## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Mike, you must have had the wrong glasses on, Zebrawood is where one would expect to find it, at the bottom of the list! I know that I promised to get even with you for something you said to me, it's a pity I can't remember what it was.


----------



## johncs (Oct 14, 2008)

Blackboy (balga) is pretty bad, but then it's not actually wood. Much loved by turners tho.


----------



## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

Thanks very much for this valuable information, and for the reminder that air masks are very important; perhaps in the long run as important as safety glasses! While some woods and wood substitutes are themselves toxic as your list points out, all sources of fine dust (such as router-generated sawdust can be) are bad for lungs, and all of us lose lung capacity as we mature.


----------



## jjciesla (Oct 20, 2007)

Good ingo George. Thanks


----------



## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

In part to keep this thread in the forefront, and in light of the information about the toxicity of certain woods (and wood replacements such as MDF) I here copy a posting I made in the Lobby in response to a thread started by Harry "A Man of My Word":

"Harry, again you bring up a very important point with the dust masks. I am forced to sit, so all the sawdust is not far from nose level. Since my spinal cord injury affects my abdominal muscles, I cannot easily breathe deeply. In fact, fluid tends to accumulate in my lungs. My body has more than the usual difficulty in removing tiny particles from my lungs, making me even more susceptible to respiratory disease. As we all mature we naturally lose lung capacity each year, and accumulating fine particles accelerates the process. So I will preach that dust masks are important for everyone, whether they currently have problems or will have problems."

Do not focus on my issues of spinal cord injury, loss of abdominal muscle control, etc. They are part of my life, and I live with them and do what I can do and try not to worry about what I cannot do.


----------



## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

Great reminder that life is a Beech, and then they put Yew in a Boxwood.


----------



## GrummanTiger (Jan 3, 2009)

I guess I better keep on reading all these posts for a month or so before I fire up my router..... I still have MUCH to learn!!!


----------



## reuelt (Dec 29, 2008)

*Cyclonic dust extraction needed*

Please read

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/Cyclone/index.cfm

Dust mask may NOT be enough.

It is the very fine dust < 3 micron size that can pass thru the cheap masks and get into our lungs that is very dangerous.
For MDF, sometimes fan existed mask make things worst if the dust mask do not ALSO have activated carbon cartridge to absorb the formaldehyde.

I prefer table mounted routing because I am able get a mini cyclone to extract most of the dust.

Dust need to be captured at the source by dust extraction even when using router hand-held. 


Reuel


----------



## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

You can still use a mini cyclone with hand held routing, I do not see why a table would make the difference at all. My Clearvue mini is hooked up the the Festool CT 33 and I use it with the hand held units all the time, so I do not see the table as an advantage for using a mini cyclone..


----------



## reuelt (Dec 29, 2008)

nickao65 said:


> You can still use a mini cyclone with hand held routing, I do not see why a table would make the difference at all. My Clearvue mini is hooked up the the Festool CT 33 and I use it with the hand held units all the time, so I do not see the table as an advantage for using a mini cyclone..


Hi Nick,

Not a problem if you can successfully use a vacuum hose when hand-held routing. Now I wish I have a Festool.

I also use a hose when doing hand held routing Hitachi M12V.

But comparing Router table & hand held, in my case, the router table is almost 100% clean. The hand-held work area is not so clean. Of course I connect 2 of 2-1/2" (64mm) host to my routing table one at the fence and the other under the table. But for hand held I could use only one long fexible 1-1/2" (32mm) hose. 2-1/2" (64mm) or 4" (100mm) hoses cannot be use for hand held rounting isn't it? 

Since there is a difference....I would prefer the router table unless I have no choice.

Best regards


NB. 
1. Some people cut off the 2 "ears" of the Hitachi M12V to use bigger bits. I wonder how they connect up the vacuum chute which is supposed to attach to those missing "ears".


----------



## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

Actually my favorite router is the DeWalt 618 for dust collection.

I use the Festool and Fein vac but also a regular old Ridgid shop vac too.

Yes getting the Hitachi to take a hose is a pain free hand I had one and I never could even get the kit for dust collection for it in the US.

I use a 2" and/or a 2.5" hose for the router with a reducer. It goes straight up to a hook in the ceiling that holds the hose up with a string and an eye hook in the joist.

I also use the ready made Festool Boom arms, but a boom arm is easy to make out of pvc pipe.

Here is a pciture from about 5 months ago when I was cleaning my ship that shows the hose on the DeWalt router using the store bought boom arm so the hose does not get in the way. I will post a picture of a home made one too.

I'll take a new picture the hose and everything is now in a sock that is shrunken tight and everything looks really professional.


----------



## rstermer (Apr 22, 2008)

curiousgeorge said:


> Some woods are more toxic than others, but all sawdust is dangerous to your lungs/health. A mask should be worn when performing work that causes any amount of sawdust. The attached PDF file will give you a list of woods and their effects on you.


FWIW, here is a link to another list which I found on the internet:

http://www.birdsafe.com/woods.htm

and another:

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclonenew/WoodToxicityTable.cfm

No way to tell the quality of this info, so use at your own risk.
rstermer


----------

