Reaction to Cocobolo

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Sancho

Sancho

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
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40
Location
Burleson TX
I'm kind of a newbie and have just turned a few pens so I don't really know a lot yet.

Yesterday I turned a nice polaris click pen using Cocobolo wood. Today I am coughing and wheezing and my sinus' are running. Now I find out some people are allergic to the wood. I'm sure I will recover, its really not that bad,but. Can you fellows please, direct me to how I can find out if there are other exotic woods out there with possible allergic reactions. Just hoping to gain a little fore-knowledge.
 
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if cocobolo bothers you, chances are that you'll have a similar reaction
to most of the rosewood family. The degree might vary, but be careful
when working with them. Use ventilation, dust collector, face mask .. fans
.. whatever you need to do. The reaction might not be terrible just yet, but
the exposure is cumulative.. so it will get worse.
 
that wood gets me bad...I use a respirator for all turnings now and sometimes cover my arms so the dust don't get me

different reactions to different people, so no one guide is going to cover it all
 
Can't help you much on the wood allergies, although I know they exist. You didn't by any chance use CA in glueing or finishing? CA causes me the same problems you describe. It has gotten progressively worse. I have had to stop using CA for finishing altogether.

Good luck and be cautious, nothing to mess with.

Carl
 
been turning a lot of cocobolo lately and did some research before i started and came across quite a few warnings. i'm with these guys, i wear a respirator with all my turning and even nitrile gloves. anything you handle a lot of you can develop an allergy too. met a guys recently the developed an allergy to wood. my worst nightmare.
 
Cocobolo got to me too! Bad rash, trip to the Dr. office. Meds, ointment, took several weeks for it to clear. Haven't turned it since ... but I do love the look of it still!
 
Go to the AAW site, www.woodturner. org, and they have a listing of toxic woods. You must be very careful if you are already showing symptoms from Cocobolo, as it is a member of the rosewood family which is very large. Do not wait for a trip to the Emergency Room. Wear a respirator any time you are turning or sanding wood.
 
Not hit with the wood allergy, except for pollen. But the CA stuff will give me the same reaction. I've been using a gas fume respirator and opening my garage doors to get the fumes under control.
If the wood is the cause, then you may need a light weight long sleeved shirt or long sleeved cuffs to slip over your fore arms. A rash could develop as you gain more exposure. Cordizon cream would help clear it up.
 
Guys, I hate to bring this up, but try and remember a few months back when our own Phillywood tried like the devil to get us to contribute information to his wood reseasrch project, Many of the more common wood like Cocobolo and other species of the Dalgergia family and other wood species are in there and this thread is the reason the guy was doing it. It might have saved this man some really potentially dangerous agravation, Maybe we should ask him nicely to let us contribute to his effort. I think there are still links to it somewhere. Honest I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but the man had a GOOD IDEA, and this just shows how good it would be to have it finished.
 
It got to me and now all dust does. I ended you buying a Trend face shield because of it. I never took all the worry about dust too seriously and it has caught up with me now that I am older. Start protecting yourself when you are young...
 
I think that whatever you turn you should use a good respirator. I use a Triton and I know that the this type of respirator is expensive, but you only get one set of lungs. All wood, finishes, etc give off dust or fumes and they can all damage your lungs. As an Rn and asthmatic I have seen what have impaired lungs can do to a person. Please wear a good, unfortunately this means costly, respirator. It is also advisable to wear long sleeves with knitted cuffs if you have any sensitivity to wood. It is possible to be allergic to all wood, not just exotics.
 
I have a friend with a sawmill and a customer of his rings and checks he hasn't been cutting any rosewoods for the last two weeks before he'll call by and buy some wood!!! he's that sensitive to it.
It worth mentioning- I wear a personal respirator at all times in my workshop, I have two extractors taking the dust at source when I'm sanding and a ambient air filter running all day and an hour after I leave as well. I also use a barrier cream in the summer on my arms and hands.
I am o.k. with cocobolo but I do have a reaction to pink ivory- how did I find out with all of my dust protection you ask? well I took a small block outside and cut it in half with a handsaw!!! seconds later my eyes were stinging/streaming.
 
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