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I bought my first sawmill this past weekend and have the blisters to prove it

Started by CalebL, June 20, 2011, 04:32:55 PM

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CalebL

First I would like to thank everyone for the wealth of knowledge contributed to this forum.  I have been reading up a lot on sawmills while deciding which to buy.  I ended up choosing a 2005 Woodmizer LT40HDD34 with under 500 hrs. 

I have a question about sawing black walnut.  I have used black walnut a lot when building furniture and other things and never had a problem with an allergic reaction.  However, when looking at the sawmill, the owner had a walnut that he demoed the mill on.  I had the sawdust all over my arms, neck and face.  I didn't think much of it and wiped it off of me the best I could at the time.  I took a shower when I got home and the next evening I started breaking out with little blisters everywhere on my arms, face and neck. 

I have never had a reaction like this before with any type of wood.  It is almost like poison ivy, except I am not allergic to poison ivy.  Anyone ever had anything like this happen to them when sawing a green walnut log?
2005 LT40 HDD34
2000 Cat 226 Skid Loader

POSTON WIDEHEAD

You may not be allergic to poison Ivy, but the tree could have had poison Sumac or poison oak. It is possible to be allergic to one and not the other.
It is also possible to be allergic to what ever he was using for blade lube.
Lots of possibilities.
I'm very lucky I'm not allergic to any of this stuff.....so far, so I always wear a mask when I saw just in case I might inhale something I shouldn't.
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Jeff

Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

woodmills1

I do feel for you

Certain people are allergic to certain stuff, nut trees can lead the way.

My lovely wife got the large, huge,  poison ivy like rash from a contact dermatitius from hickory I had asked her to help me stack



we did the doctor thing it was that bad


she has never had another incident, but will not even look at a hickory log.
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

Larry

Quote from: CalebL on June 20, 2011, 04:32:55 PMIt is almost like poison ivy, except I am not allergic to poison ivy.  Anyone ever had anything like this happen to them when sawing a green walnut log?

I'm not allergic to poison ivy either...until I cut it with a chainsaw or on the mill and get the juice on my skin.

Walnut really attracts vines and some are the poison variety.  And you can go from non-allergic to allergic as one gets older for some reason.

Heed Jeff's advice until you find out for sure.  You definitely don't want to have a reaction in your lungs from the dust.

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

corke

Walnut is actually a mild toxin.  You can read about it here: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1148.html.  The active chemical is found in the wood, and it can produce allergic symptoms in humans.

sandhills

I never used to be allergic to poison ivy either but the older I get the worse my reactions are to it.  Wear a mask when cutting walnut, I can't imagine having a reaction in my lungs, life would be entirely miserable.

Brad_bb

And my bet/guess would be after it is dry, it won't hurt or affect you.  True?
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

Banjo picker

I am glad to say , it seems that the older I get the less posion ivy and the like affect me... 8)  Tim
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

Jim H

I get the same effect with walnut. With me it's a mild reaction that goes away quickly once I get the dust off.
2008 LT40HDG28, autoclutch, debarker, stihl 026, 046, ms460 bow, 066, JD 2350 4wd w/245 loader, sawing since '94 fulltime since '98

Slingshot

Quote from: Brad_bb on June 20, 2011, 09:00:35 PM
And my bet/guess would be after it is dry, it won't hurt or affect you.  True?

        I know a guy who built some furniture with seasoned, kiln dried walnut in an enclosed
  shop and had a toxic reaction from breathing the dust and spent several weeks unable to
  do anything. Really affected him bad.




_______________________
Charles





 

CalebL

Quote from: Jim H on June 20, 2011, 09:58:30 PM
I get the same effect with walnut. With me it's a mild reaction that goes away quickly once I get the dust off.

I think I went wrong by having a hot shower. I think it went into my pores. Next time I will make sure I have long sleeves and a mask on and then take a cold shower as soon as I can.

2005 LT40 HDD34
2000 Cat 226 Skid Loader

CalebL

Quote from: Slingshot on June 20, 2011, 10:00:40 PM
Quote from: Brad_bb on June 20, 2011, 09:00:35 PM
And my bet/guess would be after it is dry, it won't hurt or affect you.  True?

        I know a guy who built some furniture with seasoned, kiln dried walnut in an enclosed
  shop and had a toxic reaction from breathing the dust and spent several weeks unable to
  do anything. Really affected him bad.




_______________________
Charles





 

I have worked a lot with dried walnut and never had a problem. It was very bizzare but it has to be something about it being green that caused it.

The only thing in the water jug is plain water so it couldn't be from that. The next time I mill some green walnut I am going to put some sawdust on my arm and see what it does.
2005 LT40 HDD34
2000 Cat 226 Skid Loader

5quarter

   Sounds like poison Ivy. almost everyone has a bank of resistance to poison ivy, some more so than others. it is counter-intuitive, but the more you are exposed, the less your resistance to it becomes. It really has  nothing to do with age as much as your frequency of exposure. The best defense is knowledge and dilegence. know how to ID it and stay on the lookout for it. to a lesser degree, the same exact thing happened to me cutting a burr oak that turned out to be covered in dead ivy(btw, the oil in poison ivy does not just disappear when its dead...it will persist for 3, 4 sometimes 5 years before biodegrading).

  Congratulations on the new mill. Lots of LT-40s here...plenty of support both from the Co. and here on Jeffs forum.
What is this leisure time of which you speak?
Blue Harbor Refinishing

CalebL

Quote from: corke on June 20, 2011, 07:11:57 PM
Walnut is actually a mild toxin.  You can read about it here: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1148.html.  The active chemical is found in the wood, and it can produce allergic symptoms in humans.

Thanks Corke!
2005 LT40 HDD34
2000 Cat 226 Skid Loader

beenthere

Quote from: CalebL on June 20, 2011, 04:32:55 PM
.............. 

I have never had a reaction like this before with any type of wood.  It is almost like poison ivy, except I am not allergic to poison ivy.  Anyone ever had anything like this happen to them when sawing a green walnut log?

I wouldn't rule out poison ivy either. I didn't used to be allergic to PI, but over the years have developed a reaction to it. And one of them was a walnut tree I cut down that had PI vines on it. A few chainsaw chips down the shirt, and then not showering until later in the day.

Not saying it is PI, as it may be a reaction to walnut. Allergies pop up out of nowhere these days.  ::)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

jdonovan

Quote from: 5quarter on June 20, 2011, 10:57:01 PM
. it is counter-intuitive, but the more you are exposed, the less your resistance to it becomes. It really has  nothing to do with age as much as your frequency of exposure.

One of the interesting things about alergins, is in general more exposure = more severe reaction.

An allergic reaction is basically an over reaction of the bodies systems to a foreign substance. This is a great simplification, but each time you are exposed you get some cells trained up to fight off the invader, each time you get exposed more and more of the body now is able to recognize and attack this foreign substance. Hence a worse and worse reaction.


thecfarm

Could of been dragged through something too. Would like to congrats you on your mill anyways.A cold shower might help,any phelps napa soap in your area or any rough soap?.Wash you clothes too on large cycle. Good luck.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

thechknhwk

Any soap that has the ability to cut oil should work well to wash off poison ivy.  I often shower with dish soap when I think that I have been exposed.  It seems to work pretty well.  Also a product called ivy wash seems to get rid of it really well - walgreen's has a generic version that is a few bucks cheaper.

CalebL

Well, after putting a bit of green saw dust from a walnut log on my arm I can conclude that I am allergic to walnut and not posioin ivy. However, when I put some sawdust from kiln dried walnut on my arm nothing happened. Wierd.   :-\
2005 LT40 HDD34
2000 Cat 226 Skid Loader

tyb525

My skin gets somewhat irritated from oak and walnut, but it goes away once I wash it off. It's not bad at all, just feels like a mild sunburn.

You might try using pine tar soap, it helps with things like that.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

bandmiller2

Cable guy,congrats on your new mill,thats a dandy.Next time I did walnut long sleeve shirt and mask.Walnut can be A dangerous wood especially when its dried as a gunstock and your a woodchuck.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Lud

Wash with Fels Naptha soap which breaks down oils really well.  It came out of Penn. oil country and is the BEST for poison ivy too!   Got a bug bite?  Wet the soap bar and let the lather dry on the bite- instant relief! 8)
Simplicity mill, Ford 1957 Golden Jubilee 841 Powermaster, 40x60 bankbarn, left-handed

Chris Burchfield

Congrates on the mill.   8) 8) 8)  We like pics.  Did you get any of your first log sawn?
Woodmizer LT40SH W/Command Control; 51HP Cat, Memphis TN.

southpaw

Last year I was cutting some pine logs for a customer and thought I ran into poison Ivy, Sumac, Oak. Started to treat for as such with not good results, broke down and went to see Doc. found out that that the old logs were full of Brome Mits. Had to be dipped like a dog 3 times and 1 month later got rid of the itch. Good luck.

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