On 18 Jan, 2007, at 4:47, Tom Davenport wrote:
As many of you know, I turn reel seats as a hobby (I have one
customer who buys a couple of dozen a month which is about right to
keep it a hobby). I take any money I make and use it to buy more wood.
I bought some Cocobolo lumber and decided to rip off a couple 1"x1"
strips to covert into 1"x1"x4" blanks and see how it looked
turned. I have no dust collection for my little bench saw, I just
take it outdoors when I need to do some ripping. I also didn't
bother to wear a dust mask. After all, it was going to just be two
quick cuts.
I managed to turned one reel seat, an interesting piece that has
both Cocobolo heartwood and sapwood.
Why only one? Well, all hell has broken out. I feel like I have
been rolling naked in poison ivy. My face is swollen, red and
puffy, I have-flu like symptoms and it hurts a bit to breathe.
Cocobolo is a perfect wood for reel seats because it is naturally
water proof and rot resistant. But it is a known to have oils in
the wood that can cause allergic reactions in some individuals. I
have had itchy skin before but nothing like this.
Here is a link
http://www.danshapiro.com/blog/archives/
000096dont_inhale_the_coco.html
which has some interesting information about Cocobolo.
You might want to avoid Cocobolo if you ever decide to start
turning your own reel seats.
Cocobolo's allergenicity is well-known among woodturners. There's
this saying: there's two types of woodturners, those that are
allergic to cocobolo and those that are going to be allergic to
cocobolo...
Having said that, I've turned many a thing from cocobolo, including
hair stackers, pens and pencils, grips for conductors batons, and
bodkin handles (although no reel seats yet -- my best reel seat to
date was with holly oak (Q. ilex)), and haven't had a reaction yet.
Touch wood... It is a gorgeous wood, especially the Panamanian
variety, which is a little more bright orange than Mexican. It is
quite expensive but well worth it.
I recently photographed two cocobolo stackers I made. WIll post if
there's interest.
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| Dr. Henk J.M. Verhaar | e-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] |
| Ecotoxicoloog en vliegbinder | tel: 035 656
2128 |
| Stichts End 17 | mobiel: 06 26
136034 |
| NL-1244 PK Ankeveen | web: www.xs4all.nl/
~flyrod |
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