Can GOOD be BAD?

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Texatdurango

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When it comes to turning I love nothing better than to chuck up a piece of Amboyna burl or cedar and start turning because within seconds I start smelling that wonderful aroma, then within minutes the whole shop smells nice! To me that's a good thing!

But........ Yesterday as I was packing things up in the shop I turned on my ceiling mounted Jet air filter since I was disrupting dust that in some cases hasn't been bothered for 25 years. I went ahead and installed a brand new filter and while I didn't really see anything in the air the filter soon started showing a slight coloration and within an hour you could easily see that the filter had changed from a snow white to a light brown.

This means that the dust I was stirring up was so fine I couldn't see it but could often smell it so it was there AND getting into my lungs!

Now back to the amboyna and that wonderful smell when turning AND the point of this post. Could enjoying that wonderful aroma while turning actually be bad for us?

After reading a lot lately about dust collection and how it's all about the sub-micron air born nasties that really do harm to us, I got to thinking...... could the GOOD really be BAD for us? Could those microscopic fibers floating around creating the smell be the ones taking a one way trip inside our lungs?

So........ am I halfway correct or just way overboard paranoid?
 
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IMHO you are not halfway correct, your are 100% correct. You are not being paranoid, you are aware. Absolutely the good can, and often is bad. If you don't agree with me, just ask my Doctor. He is constantly telling me that what I find to be good is bad when we discuss my diet. :mad: It's all a matter if risk vs. reward, and practicing moderation. Occasionally enjoying the wonderful aroma of Amboyna is fine as long as you understand the risk of inhaling the nasties. But after the initial fix, don the dust mask, or do what ever it is you do to avoid inhaling things not meant to be inhaled..
 
mbroberg said:
IMHO you are not halfway correct, your are 100% correct. You are not being paranoid, you are aware. Absolutely the good can, and often is bad. If you don't agree with me, just ask my Doctor. He is constantly telling me that what I find to be good is bad when we discuss my diet. :mad: It's all a matter if risk vs. reward, and practicing moderation. Occasionally enjoying the wonderful aroma of Amboyna is fine as long as you understand the risk of inhaling the nasties. But after the initial fix, don the dust mask, or do what ever it is you do to avoid inhaling things not meant to be inhaled..
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Ooh, I didn't think how the good/bad thing could apply to what we eat. Do you mean....... chocolate covered cherries (a box at a time) could really be......BAD for me!!! :eek: :frown:
 
George, I really don't think any foreign substance in our lungs is a good thing, but with Cedar, Amboyna or Camphor it might not be dust that you're smelling, so maybe it isn't a real bad thing.
 
Texatdurango said:
Ooh, I didn't think how the good/bad thing could apply to what we eat. Do you mean....... chocolate covered cherries (a box at a time) could really be......BAD for me!!! :eek: :frown:
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LOL, Yes George, a whole box of those chocolate covered cherries might be a bit much. Better give one of them cherries to your wife. That way you can say you are practicing moderation :smile:. Better safe than sorry. Unless giving her one would tip her off that you have a box of them...
 
Texatdurango said:
Ooh, I didn't think how the good/bad thing could apply to what we eat. Do you mean....... chocolate covered cherries (a box at a time) could really be......BAD for me!!! :eek: :frown:
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No George. Everyone knows chocolate and cherries are both high in anti-oxidants, which are good for you. It's exercise that's bad for you. Wears out your heart and muscles.

txbob
 
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One of my favorite aspects of turning is the unique smell of each wood species. I get my fix while turning with a sharp skew, which doesn't produce much dust. I use a respirator if I'm going to be doing any sanding.
 
Texatdurango said:
Ooh, I didn't think how the good/bad thing could apply to what we eat. Do you mean....... chocolate covered cherries (a box at a time) could really be......BAD for me!!! :eek: :frown:
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I believe I read somewhere that a box of chocolate covered cherries can be very, very good for you as long as it is consumed with at least 64oz of creme liquor.
 
CaptG said:
LOL, Yes George, a whole box of those chocolate covered cherries might be a bit much. Better give one of them cherries to your wife. That way you can say you are practicing moderation :smile:. Better safe than sorry. Unless giving her one would tip her off that you have a box of them...
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That's why you give her the LAST ONE! And remember to smile and say "Look Honey, I saved you something!"
 
Camphor

I just cut up a 25 pound block of camphor burl yesterday in the shop. I have a number of these blocks and have stored them for about a year now. The 'fresh cut' pieces seemed completely saturated immediately after cutting but fairly quickly the surface saturation seemed to evaporate. I decided to let them be at 3/4"x4"x16", stickered them and put some heavy cocobolo blocks on top of the stack, just to be safe.

The point of my story is that both during and after I cut the camphor, the shop smelled great. No sinus congestion after that. Although the cuts kicked up a bit of dust, I'm sure that the majority of the scent was caused by the saturation and ensuing evaporation. I could smell the camphor through my dust mask, indicating to me that it wasn't the dust stimulating my sense of smell.

Lastly, there's crud floating in the air everywhere, it's what allows the people who make dusters to stay in business. If it wasn't for that, what would all of the french maids have to do?
 
txbob said:
No George. Everyone knows chocolate and cherries are both high in anti-oxidants, which are good for you. It's exercise that's bad for you. Wears out your heart and muscles.

txbob
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Besides, Aren't chocolate covered cherry's considered a major food group?
 
George,

Unfortunately it seems in the case of wood work especially with the aromatics good is bad as a good cigar is.

I believe while it is the fine dust that is doing the damage it is the fumes from the oils that as they are heated by friction is what we smell. What ever the case your filter example is a reminder of the danger in even the "smallest" things.

Doug

And there is a greater danger in finishing off that box of chocolate covered cherries that dust could ever do. Be afraid
 
It is actually that very fine no seeum dust that does the most harm. it makes it's way deeper into the lung and then causes problems later. A lot of focus with dust collection is about the shop being clean, not sweeping up etc. But that is really a false indicator of how well your collector works. you can have large saw dust all over the place as long as the collector get s that fine stuff. Problem is the fine stuff is harder to capture. And to make it even worse you can have a collector that gets every big chip but allows much of the fine stuff to float free in the air. Knowing the min CFM of air movement you need and meeting or exceeding it is the best way to go.

And you can never eat to much chocolate. How dare you even suggest otherwise.
 
After reading a book called Dust, I decided to purchase a Triton powered filter facemask. I use it anytime I'm on the lathe. Daniel's correct about the smaller the particles, the greater the danger. My dad died from Emphysema after working 45 years in the corrugated box industry. I remember when I was a kid and I got to visit his workplace that there was always a fine "dust" of paper particles in the air. When you looked at the windows that were placed about 30 feet off the floor, there was actually a halo effect from the particulate matter in the air. They didn't know how dangerous it was back then, but we know better now. Some of the woods and synthetics we work with are much worse than mere paper particles. Just one man's opinion.

Jim Smith
 
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