Smelly Wood Advise

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greenchicken

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2011
Messages
100
Location
Ventura, California
Got my hands on some Camphor Burl. Absolutely beautiful, but the odor is overwhelming. Turned one pen last weekend and my garage still stinks. My wife would rather me not continue working with this wood.

Anyone know any tricks? Like soaking them in lemon water or rubbing them the extracted juice of a newt's intestines?
 
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Turn some olive wood after? To cover up the smell?

Your in a warmer climate - open garage and vent more?

Camphor - antler - ebonite... all yucky smells IMO.
 
Tune up your dust collection system.

I've been getting ready for a big show for the last several days. What I will typically do is turn by groups of material. I used to go strictly by kit type, because I felt that I could reproduce the correct shapes of the different pen styles better that way, but now I go by material because I can get into the 'groove' of how to turn each particualr material better that way.

The last four days, it has been antler's 'turn'. Last night, I finished the last of that and moved on to buffalo horn. As I was turning the first one, I flashed on a thread from a week or so ago where it was mentioned that antler stunk when turning and I realized that I had just turned a ton of it for several days and didn't smell it, at all. The dust collector was sucking all of that away.
 
I agree with the last 2 posters, I too like the Camphor smell the more the better to keep my always blocked nose a little less unblocked.

One of the old methods to clean up/reduce strong odours, is the used a sliced potatoes to absorb the unwanted smells. Cutting 2 or 3 large potatoes into 1/2" slices, putting them in the area affected does work but maybe not enough for you...!

Worth a try though...!

Good luck,
Cheers
George
 
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