Headaches after woodworking.

Chang

Chang

Joined
Oct 9, 1998
Messages
1,767
Last weekend, I was working with bocote and cocobolo on my grinder, and they both gave me headaches (the bocote gave me the worst headache I've had in a while). I don't have a bandsaw or scrollsaw yet, so I'm just fitting the scale set on and grinding off all the extra wood to get the right handle shape, and it's making a whole lot of dust.
I was wearing a 3M half face double filter respirator, fitted with a organic vapor cartridge and a P95 particulate prefilter, yet I still get headaches. What's the best way to keep all the dust (metal or wood) out? Is what I'm using right now sufficient to keep out the dust? I've been spending a lot of time in my garage making knives recently, and I'm afraid it might cause me some permanent lung damage and I'm thinking about enlisting in the military next year, so I can't have my lungs in bad shape.
 
Seems to me like that should have been plenty of protection. Were you taking the mask off peridodically and then putting it back on? Particles can hang in the air nearly invisibly for hours after grinding. You could try keeping a mister bottle and spraying water vapor into the air to settle those particles like we do in the clay studio....

I don't know if cocobolo is supposed to cause headaches or not but it sounds like maybe you could be allergic. Try venting your grinding dusts ot the outside if you can.
 
blade mag ran an artical on wood and metal dust i don't know which issue it was in but its bad stuff..if i find it i'll let you know
david lovins
 
I saw a recent article on making a shop air cleaner - a cheap box fan, add a wood frame, and high efficiency filters. It may have been in a knife mag, or a wood mag. I'll try to find it.

One time, I tried burning a hidden tang into a block of cocobolo. I sneezed for two days.
 
Chang,Some woods react differently to people,most exotics are not so good.Cocobolo can be one of the worst for some with everything from respiratory problems to rashes or worse.Just makes me sneeze,and I have had no problem with bocote.It sounds like you have a good respirator.If you don't have a dust collection system,at least get a shop vac to use.With shop vacs be careful not to use when grinding steel or you can cause a nice fire.For steel keep a can or bucket under the grinder with water in it and a few drops of dishwashing liquid(lets the particles sink).You may not be able to do certain woods.Hope this helps,Dave.
 
Howdy There Chang...!
Sorry to here about the headaches, but afraid that Cocobola is one of the worst extoic woods that effect people. I know that it will cause breathing problem for almost everyone in some form. From my experience from working in the nuclear field that if you have facial hair you will not get a good seal on your respirator, no matter how tight you think that you may have it sealed. Also try the box fan filters and exhaust your grinding to the outside to see if that will help clean the air. Good Luck...
"Possum":cool:
 
Now, I warned you about that nasty evil wood Cocobolo. I have never had a problem with that Bocote, but every person is differant.

Your resperator is plenty fine, provinding you have it fit right. My guess would be lingering particals in the air.

Some other possiblities to look at. Hearing protection can cause headaches, sometimes very severe. It comes from two reasons. For ear plugs, it can be caused by presure on the ear drum. For head phone types it could be putting pressure on blood vessels and pressure points.

Your glasses or face shield could be putting pressure on vessels or pressure points same as hearing protection can.

I was getting awfull headaches awhile back when grinding blades. Took me forever to figure out that I was clinching my jaw. The constant strain on my jaw muscles was causing basically stress headaches. Once I learned to relax my face while grinding, the headaches went away.
 
I wont even think about using Cocobolo any more.Sure I like the stuff and it looks really awesome on a Knife.But I get the worst headaches from it,they feel like the top of my head is going to blow off,and this can happen just hand sanding down a small part of the handle.Plus when I used to use it the dust that was still on my clothes when I came into the house would bother my youngest Daughter the same way,plus it cause here to get sinus infections.Once I finally figured out what was doing it and quit using it we both feel better and she isn't sick all the time on us.
That is something to think about also,You do have a good filter and mask,but you still get dust on the clothes and when you take them off after being in the shop you will knock some of that dust back onto yourself and breath it causing the headaches...If the wood is the problem I would suggest finding something different as ahandle material.Your life is not worth it even though it is pretty and popular..
Just my 2 cents worth..
Bruce
 
Welcome to the club. There are a lot of us that just plain can't work with exotics. I hate it because I love the wood but it just tears me up. If you do a little internet research on the woods you will find they cause problems with most people who work with them long enough. One raelly bad thing is, once you develop the reaction, they get worse each time you use them. Rosewood is my worst one and I love the stuff.
 
,you could use disposible paper coveralls availabile at paint supply shops,they are cheap. vaseline around a poor fitting face mask could also help.
 
Wow. Thanks for the information, guys. I always check my mask for a tight fit but convering the exhale and breathing out, and the mask bulges out, then I cover the filters and breath in, and the rubber get squeezed in from lower pressure. I make sure the air isn't coming out or in where it shouldn't be, and then I tighten it up.

Ron, I've been wearing respirator, ear plugs, glasses, and a face shield for a while now, and never a headache, until I got to the bocote wood. That made my head hurt. Felt like my head was getting crushed in. The headache I got from cocobolo was very mild compared to the bocote headache.

Bruce, my t-shirt was orange when I got back into the house. Maybe I should get the coveralls like Allan suggested.

DC, how much is a shop vac? I'm really worried about leaving dust in the garage, because the dog walks through the garage when we take him out for a walk, and I'm afraid the dog will breath the dust and get a lung condition after a few years.
 
They say that it will affect some people by just getting it on the skin and if that is the case then you would have to have one of those space type suits to work it and i don't figure that it is worth it that much..
Sweeping the floor can cause the same reaction so make sure you wear your mask at least when you sweep up.If the dust is settled down I don't know if it would hyrt the dog much except getting it in his fur and irritating him that way,also he will track it in the house and then if he shakes causing dust you get it again..
That is why I will not do any in my shop at all anymore,And it is a shame as it is so beautiful on a knife..
Good luck,
Bruce
 
Originally posted by david lovins
blade mag ran an artical on wood and metal dust i don't know which issue it was in but its bad stuff..if i find it i'll let you know
david lovins
Click to expand...
The article David was referring to is in Knives Illustrated august 2001 p.53 . pretty good article.
-Ted Trent
 
I have that cocobolo allergy and, like Peter, it got worse every time no matter how I protected myself. I just don't use it any more, there are too many other cool handle materials.:)
 
Some of the dusts can be absorbed thru the skin. Other times it can get into your eyes (a faceshield does nothing to prevent that). Maybe the headache was from the dust getting into your eyes.

Many years ago I used a wood called Goncalo Alves and the dust made my eyes swell and they became VERY sore.
 
A number of tropical hardwoods contain oils and terpenes that can be toxic. You can absorb the chemicals both through your skin (wear gloves and use a barrier-cream like auto mechanics use), by inhaling the dust (very bad for all in the air space, make sure to use a dust collection system with HEPA filtration AND the respirator), or by inhaling Fumes of chemicals which can be liberated from the wood by the heat of machine grinding. Grind as little as possible and work with hand sanding.

Cocobolo and Bocote as well as rose wood of all types are potential problems for some folks. Ebony dust is another bad one, as well as African Blackwood which can cause skin and nasal cancers. I carve wood of all sorts, and try to avoid abrasive tools as much as I can. Using a respirator will do nothing to protect you from the fine dust that can get in the air of your home. You NEED to have a dust collector near your grinder And wear a respirator, gloves, and some sort of shop coverall to you can vacuum the dust off yourself before you leave the shop. If you are experiencing headaches, you may be developing an allergic reaction to the wood or fumes from the wood that will require a dust/air extraction system and avoiding that species of wood.

The following woods are known to cause skin and eye allergies, including contact dermatitis, conjunctivitis, itching and rashes. Keep in mind that people react differently to different woods; rosewood may cause rashes in one person and not affect another person.

Remember, woods are called many different common names.

TOXIC WOODS

Arbor Vitae
Ayan
Blackwood, African
Boxwood, Knysna
Cashew
Cedar, Western red
Cocobolo
Cocus
Dahoma
Ebony
Greenheart
Guarea
Ipe or Iapacho
Iroko
Ironwood, Arizona
Katon
Mahogany, African
Mahogany, American
Makore
Mansonia
Mesquite
Obeche
Opepe
Peroba rosa
Peroba, white
Ramin
Rosewood, Brazilian
Rosewood, East Indian
Satinwood, Ceylon
Satinwood, West Indian
Sequia Redwood
Sneezewood
Stavewood
Sucupira
Teak
Wenge
 
Para, how does the fine dust get into my house? I'm grinding the garage with the door closed, and I don't think air is drawn from the garage into the house, but I better get a HEPA filter Shop Vac.
 
the dust gets in the house because it is on you. i dont have a collector system, i have a reperator, bucket of water under the grinder and leave the garage door open so that there is some air exchange going on. also put a fan to one side to blow the dust out side. that way you are not stewing in it. it helps.
 
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