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Yeah... I went over there and saw that. Very impressive. I have a small one, but I am going to build one of those. Thanks for sharing.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Thanks for all of he replies guys!

I have managed to finish the guitar body....at least as much as I am going to sand on it. I have also vacuumed the shop to remove as much as I can o fthe dust. Next comes the dust collections system and air cleaner.

This has been a wakeup call for sure!

My face is swollen and my neck is as red as beets. My lips are as large as a certain ethnic race of peoples. I have a pretty severe rash on my wrist where my watch was and then in the inside of my elbow.

I have taken more allegra D, and soaked in a hot bath with epsom salts then rubbed the affected areas down with lanacort. Hopefully this will relieve the itching and burning. If anybody knows anything better I can do for it, please let me know!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Ken, there is a product called liquid gloves. It is supposed to keep paint from sticking to your skin.

http://www.liquidgloves.net/

I wonder if it might help you get through this will less of a reaction.

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Aoibeann

Hi Ken,
Wow. Hope that's your last deal with that. You ought to tell your doc. Write down all your symptoms, how they dissipated etc. You are fortunate that it's only a skin issue THIS time. Sensitisers can wreck you pretty good. Send a PM to Hank Mauel, if he hasn't already contacted you. (luthier brother who's had health issues)

Have a plan that your wife can act upon if she ever needs to, if you are in major trouble (anaphylactic shock from bee sting could kill some of us here...)

Be wise and slow down for a couple minutes and do some homework. Take this as an exhortation from a brother. You have real potential and opportunities to do some great work. But I fear you are running downhill so fast you're about to go head over heels! Be careful Ken. Use the common sense given you. We enjoy watching you grow.

Thanks Terry. I appreciate the concern.

I pulled the trigger on the CV1800 dust collector system tonight. It should be shipped tomorrow. I am headed over to Woodcraft tomorrow morning to buy a shop air cleaner also. They have the Jet systems on sale right now, so it is a good time to buy one. I'll also increase the size of my DC pipes from 4" to 6".

I spent the day today building myself a sanding table, complete with a DC hookup. It is 3'x4' in size, so that should be plenty enopugh for what sanding that I do.

One of my closest friends came over this morning and did a thorough vacuuming and cleaning of my shop. When He heard what had happened and then saw my appearance, he was glad to chip in and help me. It is just awesome to have friends like that!

The Pao ferro body is complete and sanded. I'll let Jow White do any last minute touch ups to the sanding that need to be done on it. I am going to go ahead and send it to him just to get it out of my shop.

The air filtration and dusst collection upgrades have been a priority for me, but I had to get these guitars out of the way before I could start on it. This puts that ahead of the guitars.

Hopefully in a few days I will have all of the needed upgrades done and the guitar that is causing problems will be gone.

Thanks again for all of the excellent information and helpful links, tips and concern. This is a GREAT place to hang out!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Ken, Hope you get to feeling better soon! Thanks for posting about this too. I have not had an allergic reaction to any woods,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yet, so I will take special precautions with this one.

If the symptoms progress or even if they simply don't get better by tomorrow, see a Doctor quickly. You might need a round of steroids to get your system back straight.

This can be serious crap, folks.

I'd also stay out of that shop for a week, just to let all the dust settle and to give your body a chance to recover. The worst dust is the one we can't see...

Hope you get over it and back into the workshop soon Ken.


jsimpson-
Tasmanian Myrtle is not a known allergen but Australian Blackwood certainly is. I've never seen it mentioned on this forum so I thought it prudent to let you blokes know.

Bob

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Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

As much as I really hate to do it... I have to agree with you!

Another thing, presently, dust is understood to be more of a health concern, before... one just died!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Benadryl is much better for allergic reactions than allegra. I once had an allergic reaction to hay...I was playing in my cousin's hayloft and came out with welts all over the place. Rubbing alcohol helped to bring down the welts. If your reaction is still that bad Ken, listen to Mario, get to a doctor.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

I second Grumpy's advice to see a doctor. Sounds like a pretty severe reaction. A steroid burst might be in order. Continued exposure could cause bad things to happen rather rapidly.
Stay away from that stuff.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Allergies can be variable in nature. The reaction from Pau Ferro and Cocobolo is classified as a contact dermatitis allergy. It is the same kind of reaction that we see with poison ivy. Without treatment, a breakout can last a couple of weeks. The first day someone is exposed to it, they may have no problem. Once the immune system is primed, however, the reaction can occur rapidly. It usually takes a couple of weeks after being exposed to develop the allergy. The funny thing is that a person could use a type of wood for years and then develop the reaction.
With contact dermatitis, there usually is a grace period of a couple of hours before the reaction will be triggered. For example, if you are sensitive to Cocobolo and pick up a piece of it accidently, you still have an hour or so to get the oils off your skin. You need to use soapy water, because we are talking about oily resins. Plain water won't help. A solvent like mineral spirits could get rid of it as well.
When the rash strikes, antihistamines may help some of the itching, but won't fix the reaction. Usually it takes a steroid. Bad cases require a shot or prednisone by mouth. Mild cases may respond to hydrocortisone cream, but often the rash will still be annoying.
There are other reactions to wood, including respiratory problems. Using good dust collection and respirators around any kind of dust is important. I wil put in a post under a separate heading later when I have more time.
The reason why I know this stuff is that I'm a family physician. The chronic respiratory problems from dust are very important and merit their own conversation.

Blimey Bob, thanks for the heads up- I have a set of Tassie Blackwood at home I'll work with one day.....I have worked with it in small quantities before and have had itchy eyes, etc. I've never had an allergic reaction in my life, apart from discomfort with working with WRC.

Cocobolo is the only wood that I'm positive I get a reaction from (dust, oil, etc) in the form of a skin rash.
But, having been there with respiratory problems, which many of you know took a year+ out of my building schedule, I am really cautious about ANY wood dust now. All my sanding on the wide belt, random orbital, etc. is done with a full organic vapor/particulate filtered face mask...just like what's used in the spray booth.

Plus, once you start to get these problems, you will find things like the superglue fumes will get to you, not to mention lacquer, acetone and all those other fun produsts that seem to show up in our shops.

Another thought to pass along (got this from my local hardwood dealer) is that much, if not all, the imported woods get fumigated/sprayed for insects. The residual of that stuff in and on the wood, once turned into airborne dust, is not good for you either. This came to light from buying mahogany boards to resaw into neck components. The dealer suggested wearing the full respirator/filter when sawing/sanding/shaping the wood.

So, once you have been afflicted with respiratory problems, your immunity is reduced a bit. Repeated incidents, well you get the idea, just "eat away" at you. Not a fun subject, but better to start precautions now than wait for your airways to swell shut. You may look funny with the outline of a face mask around your nose and mouth at the end of the day, but it beats the alternative!

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Hank Mauel