Greetings:
I had never used makore until I saw some at the lumber yard which looked quite beautiful - a nice deep red with a fair amount of figure too. In any case, as soon as I start to work with it - even cross-cutting a one by two - my nose and lungs immediately notice. If I do any heavy work like jointing, planing or ripping large pieces, my breathing apparatus protests. I do not have any alergic problems with any other wood. Is this normal?
Cheers,
Ted
I have worked with Makore in Yacht building and have found no one who does not have some kind of reaction. Dust masks are a must.
Ted - I've cut a lot of different woods, domestic and exotics. A couple of months ago I saw a piece of S2S Makore for little more than shipping cost so I thought Id give it a shot. No protection, one pass through the jointer and I was out for the rest of the day with nose/throat irritation. Take some precautions. I don't want ANY wood that bad - it went out to the trash the next day.
jim bailey
Thanks for the replies. I have done some more searching on the question and it seems that it is quite a toxic wood. If I am going to use it, it will be rare and only with good respiratory protection.
Ted
A good many of the exotics have some very nasty side affects.
I bought a truck load of tali for almost nothing. I ripped one board and had a allergic reaction for almost 72 hrs. Severe etching and breathing problems. I got several hundred feet of this very nasty stuff, so I stored it out of doors. The termites will not even bother it. Makes beautiful outdoor furniture.
Here are a couple of toxic wood lists:
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