Which wood?

[Unleash]

Hi there
After reading some of your sticky guides on safety and being new to turning, I was quite amazed to see the amount of toxins in wood, I was aware of Yew and Laburnum, I gathered that any dust from any wood can be toxic to some degree or at least an irritant to the skin, I am used to fumes/dust from my work in the metalwork industry so I am aware of the dangers etc
Question is my set up is very basic, small lathe 20 inch bed, in the shed at the bottom of the garden with my grinders and drill presses etc I currently use a Henry for sucking the dust from grinders/sanders and wear a dust mask as i make a few items out of Balsa wood, but now with the lathe in place and having bought a few pen blanks from Ebay in various woods including Yew, Iroko, Laburnum which I have having a problem working out which is which to be honest as they are in mixed packs with other woods Oak, Elm etc.
What I would like advice on is that my daughter wants to learn turning and with some small blanks I thought that would be an ideal way to learn. Now after the typical internet googling and reading info on wood and toxins etc all of a sudden it does not seem like a good idea.
So question is, is there a safe wood to work with ? ( I understand all wood dust or dust in general is bad for you without proper protection ) Is there a wood that would poses little danger to ones health, is it just the dust you need to be careful of, or the chips/shavings that come from the tools when you are turning the pieces or is it really just the sawdust when you are sanding the piece on the lathe, and applying the waxes,oils etc .
I have seriously being bitten by the bug and I think this compliments my metalworking, I have little knowledge of wood and since posting here the other day I have had some very useful PM's from people, so i thought what the hell put the cards on the table and say I am a newbie and need help...
I do understand that people have worked with wood for centuries in one form or another and common sense must prevail, hence if you work in a room full of dust of any kind it is going to affect you in someway. I would also like your advice on a dust/facemask I have seen several on machine mart, ebay etc and would like something a little more protective if need for myself and my daughter. I bought some 3m 8835 FFP3 masks but have seen some others but of course but am not sure, as the one I wore at work was a full organic respirator with serious filters strapped on both sides. I feel that would be overkill for what will amount to turning small items in a shed, but I could be wrong.
So for those that scanned to the bottom without reading it all, my questions are
Is there a safe wood to use when teaching a young person to turn?
What sort of protection would you recommend?
Is it safe to turn the laburnum,yew and Iroko and any other toxic wood, if so what protection should one take?
Regards
Simon

 

[CHJ]

Good to see you taking safety seriously, in the main though good practise is using common sense.
IROKO is about the worst in that mix for contact with dust and the chemicals released and I would avoid letting a youngster use it.
As far as the youngster is concerned a good face shield to protect the Face and Eyes and as good a dust mask as you can afford.
If you can get as much extraction as possible from the area near the tools and away from the worker then that's better than relying on just the mask, beware of any extractor housed in the shed that it has a good filter level as re-distribution back into the surroundings of the fine, at times invisible dust, needs to be avoided.

Make sure they wash their hands after sanding as it's easy to transfer dust to the eyes and face, and although not dangerous can cause irritation and puffy eyes etc..

Don't let the toxicity aspect spoil the fun, the important thing is you are aware of the possibility of problems and don't let yougsters play with the dust or blow it around.

If you start off explainig that they need to avoid breathing it in if all possible you will find that they become the dust police whenever someone else comes into the shed.

Teaching children to safely handle the tools and the pleasure on their faces when they have a finished project is a great reward.

 

[DougieH]

Hi Simon, when I started, I turned and sanded without mask. Reading on here about the dangers, I bought a Maximask 2000, less than £20. I was going to put it on for sanding, but I noticed a lot of fine dust coming off while scraping. So now, I put it on after getting the wood set up on the lathe. I hardly notice I`m wearing it now. And I have noticed a huge difference in my breathing after turning. I have a hoover nozzle stuck by the lathe to catch most of the dust, but that does recycle the smaller dust paticles, hence the mask ,when funds allow I will get a small filter. Better safe than sorry.

Doug

 

[myturn]

I would suggest getting a proper respirator, the two main contenders are the Trend Airshield and the JSP Power Cap.

Of the two I prefer the JSP as it is lighter and better balanced, although the visor doesn't tilt up.

Once you start on pens you will inevitably move on to larger items that create more dust, but even pens can create a fair amount.

Keeping the extractor nozzle close to the wood is fairly obvious but it won't take up all the dust which is why you should use a respirator.

 

[Lightweeder]

Agree dust extraction is important, but things do fly off the lathe from time to time, and a young face needs to be protected. As said, a Trend Airshield or JSP Power Cap, while appearing expensive, are really essential. A mask is not enough.

 

[Unleash]

Hi all
Thanks for the info and the help. Yes I have her help in the workshop at work and I love the fact they can cut the metal and make things for themselves.She so wants to turn wood and I don't want to stop her at all, just be safe.
Ill get a full face shield for us both and a good dust mask, I know my extractor is basic i.e a Henry vacuum and I always keep the motor outside the shed as I am aware it will just blow the dust around the shed... Once I can identify the Iroko ill stick it away. I was just concerned and obviously value her lungs as well as mine. So I guess I can use most woods and if she is going to be turning little items from pen blanks this is not really going to pose too much of threat though of course once the sandpaper is put on dust flys! As for the handwashing, not a problem my OCD will kick in there
Ill check out the respirators and see what is suitable, I think in the long run one will be sensible for us both, or even two !
So I guess most wood is safe for her to turn then including the Yew/Laburnum or should I dump that too?
Thanks for the replies, I am really grateful.
Regards
Simon

 

[CHJ]

Yew and laburnum will be fine, just take care, if you notice itcing eyes or the like sort out why. Iroko is red/brown in colour.

With some woods it's not just the dust, it's the chemical constituants they release that can also cause iritation, your vac outside the shed is the best possible option, if you can run to something that shifts even more air the better.

 

[Unleash]

Thanks CHJ, found the Iroko ill give it a miss unless someone wants to PM and ill post it out to them in the morning.
Regards
Simon