One of the for sale postings about getting out of turnings because of allergies made me think about my own problems. I confess I love turning cocobolo but have become very sensitive to it. I use a trend pro face face mask, turn only with complete coverage of clothing to eliminate exposed skin, run a ceiling air cleaner as well as my dust collector and have built a fully enclosed air tight box around a lathe like a sand blasting cabinet. And I still have mild skin rashes for days after turning cocobolo. Even with all these steps a little must get out and I then pay the price but the wood is so beautiful I keep going back. This is the only wood that I am that sensitive to at this time. I suspect given time some of the rosewoods would give me the same problem.
Anyone else that bad about a wood that is just not good for them?
G'day,
The issue is a lot more complex that you may think, and my best advice to you is, as soon as you identify a wood that is causing you problems, STOP working with it for good...!
There are other woods that are carcinogenic such as the Silky-Oak, Rosewoods ands many others a Google search will give you the info you need but, each person has different immune level of resistance but when something went from very minor reactions to serious stuff, no masks or any kind of protection will work apart from keeping yourself free of any contact with the cause of the allergies.
Sure, Cocobolo is a nice wood but, well known for its cracking and its allergy provocations I see absolutely no reason why you should believe that Cocobolo is the only wood you like or is giving you good results, mate you have thousands of other tree species that are equality beautiful and perfectly capable to replace your "killer" Cocobolo, make no mistake, people do die from severe allergy complications so, find alternative woods, you have plenty to chose from...!
Good luck
Cheers
George