Reaction to Olivewood

[scotties22]

So I got a piece of Olivewood with a few pieces of briar last week. I just drilled it on the lathe and started to turn it. I came inside to get something to drink and now my throat feels a bit tight and my chest burns a little. I know that olivewood is a sensitizer. Am I just crazy sensative to the stuff? Has anyone else had a reaction like this? I took a benedryl just to be safe. Gonna go change my clothes and wash off any left over dust on me. Guess I will go clean the garage tomorrow morning and get rid of any olive dust out there....good thing it's trash day tomorrow.

[Massis]

did you inhale any wooddust? Doesn't matter if it's olive or briar (which is even worse imo), if you inhale the dust (read: work without a decent shopvac / dustmask) you'll get into trouble.

I used to think it wouldn't matter that much but I've changed my mind! I've put all my other shop expenses on hold until I can get my hands on a decent double filter dustmask.

[wmolaw]

I am no expert on the issue, but when I first started I didn't have any kind of dust removal system (now I have a huge shop vac, great filters, and I wear a face mask) and after awhile I also felt issues.

I read a ton of articles here and elsewhere, and it's pretty important to have SOME removal system, and wear a good mask. I have even begun wearing a half way decent mask while hand sanding.

[Alden]

Reactions are common. I dont know how extreme your symptons were but I've heard of people breaking out in rashes, getting confused and disoriented and ending up in the hospital from wood that doesnt like them.
Like others mentioned, if you dont have good dust collection it may have been a reaction to the sawdust as much as being specific to Olive wood.

[scotties22]

I do have a shopvac that I run while I work. For now I have one of those cyclone trash can lids that fits on a 5 gallon bucket. All-in-all it works fairly well. I wear a mask while I'm working too...always. And when I'm at the lathe a wear a face shield. Might be a little TMI, but we are trying to have another baby and all I need to do is get sick becuase of a supressed immune system. Making sure I don't breathe in any dust is a biggie for me. I will work around to getting a big system, but for now am taking every precaution I can afford.

As to my reaction. The skin on my arms got a little red from contact with the shavings the lathe was throwing. My lungs started to feel a little tight when I inhaled and my throat felt like it was swelling a little. I am going to try an experiment tonight. I'm gonna wear a long sleeve shirt and gloves, plus mask and face shield and see how I do with it. If I have problems again I will be putting olivewood on the no-go list.

[Alden]

I do have a shopvac that I run while I work. For now I have one of those cyclone trash can lids that fits on a 5 gallon bucket. All-in-all it works fairly well. I wear a mask while I'm working too...always. And when I'm at the lathe a wear a face shield. Might be a little TMI, but we are trying to have another baby and all I need to do is get sick becuase of a supressed immune system. Making sure I don't breathe in any dust is a biggie for me. I will work around to getting a big system, but for now am taking every precaution I can afford.

As to my reaction. The skin on my arms got a little red from contact with the shavings the lathe was throwing. My lungs started to feel a little tight when I inhaled and my throat felt like it was swelling a little. I am going to try an experiment tonight. I'm gonna wear a long sleeve shirt and gloves, plus mask and face shield and see how I do with it. If I have problems again I will be putting olivewood on the no-go list.

Unless you just ordered a ton of Olivewood, I dont see any good reason to keep working with it ? Probably not worth it just to use up 3 or 4 blocks IMO.
Its not like you have a reaction to briar, in which case I'd say keep trying until you know for sure.

[scotties22]

I just got the one block. I didn't know how I would like working with it. Now I'm really glad I only bought one. I would be super bummed if I had more of it.

[andrew]

If it is truly irritating your lungs you should consider a respirator. A shop vac will not remove all of the particles that irritate eyes/skin/airways. The white mask that homeowners buy for one time tasks will do a good job of filtering particles larger than a marble not so good for regular exposure to ultra fine particulates that briar generates. Plus your kids will think its cool. My kids laugh at me when I've got muffs and respirator donned for blasting.

[scotties22]

I took the mask I use from my husband. He uses them when he cuts concrete pavers on patios. It is a little better than the crappy one use ones, but not much. I think I am going to have to get a respirator. Briar doesn't seem to bother me, but I want to get into putting extensions and such on my pipes and don't want to have problems with any other type of wood. Guess for now I will put this block of olive on the shelf and let it sit for a while.

[Sasquatch]

Some woods just hit certain people a certain way. Butternut just kills me and other guys can cut it all day.

Stay away from olive.

[SimeonTurner]

I love Olivewood! I love the look of it, and maybe even more I love the smell of it as I work it.

Sorry you seem to be allergic! Major bummer!

[scotties22]

Yeah, it smelled great...until my throat started to swell...

[Massis]

Now we're on the topic of respirators, does anyone have any experience with full face masks? I'm considering a Moldex series 9000, the 9002 to be precise...
The main thing I'm not sure on is the size. They come in small, medium and large, but nowhere does it state what that means exactly.

As always it's alot cheaper with you guys. Price is €105 to €125 ($135-160) in Europe and I've seen it for $78 on amazon.com ...