Questions tagged [toxicity]
For questions about material safety, potential toxicity, and minimizing pollution.
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Is there lead paint on my 80-105 year old piano? [duplicate]
I have an old piano made in Czechoslovakia it's somewhere between 80-105 years old. The brand/maker/company's name is Weinbach. It no longer works because all the notes are ripped out i want to turn ...
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Can preservative-treated Douglas fir safely be used indoors (after planing the outer layer off)
I have a bunch of Douglas fir planks left over from another project. These were originally intended for outdoor use and are treated with some kind of preservative that leaves a colored stain (they ...
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Curing no-VOC finishes indoors?
I started some furniture projects with Baltic Birch plywood this summer. I've been using low-VOC Varathane gel stain (clear) and their Diamond Wood Finish (Semi-Gloss) to finish the pieces, and I do ...
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Emerald Ash Borer: pesticide safety concerns?
I've been working with ash lately, turning several bowls and using for jaws in a workbench. A fellow woodworker was explaining some of the effects of the emerald ash borer to me and how it's affecting ...
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seem to be allergic to unfinished wood in the drawers of my new bedroom set [closed]
The smell of wood is causing my throat and nose to swell when I lay down at night, I had to move to another room.
How can I eliminate this odor, or at least mellow I out?
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Spoons from Pinus Sylvestris for my toddler son: is the wood's toxicity significantly harmful?
I have recently finished cutting spoons for my toddler son to use, made from Pinus Sylvestris. The results are great. When showing them to my pal, he warned me that pine is toxic, and I should've ...
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Just realized our deck was built with CCA pressure treated wood, what shall we do to eliminate or reduce the harm?
I just learned that the green stuff overlapping the wood board is a pretty positive sign that the pressure treated wood contains arsenic. We just bought a house and didn't realize until now. The CCA ...
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What are the best substitutes when nothing labelled as "Denatured alcohol" can be found in your area?
In the process of replacing methanol solvents (methyl hydrate) in my shop with arguably less toxic ethanol-based "denatured alcohol", I've encountered difficulty in finding any product labelled ...
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Is shellac that has been dissolved with methyl hydrate (methanol) toxic, once dry?
I've dissolved de-waxed shellac flakes in methyl hydrate (which contains methyl alcohol), and I would like to know if the alcohol retains some of its toxicity after it has dried. Intuitively it's so ...
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Wooden Music Box oily and leaving residue on paper. is leaking residue toxic? bought in Salzburg, Austria from market vendor
i was hoping to gift this to a friend, but I don't want to give something that has a substance that could potentially be toxic! Why is it greasy when it's just wood, and is the oil toxic?
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Is it necessary to cover all veneered particle board ends?
Visible/accessible edges are trivial - we cover them for pleasant looks, durability and to avoid getting splinters.
What are the benefits/needs of covering unseen ends of veneered particle boards ...
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Is cedar dangerous for your health when used in indoor furniture?
I'm concerned about the health risks of using the cedar as indoor furniture. Had no idea about the toxicity of cedar before making a bed with my friend out of cedar from Home Depot. Apparently the ...
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Can anyone offer guidance on heating with wood waste from the shop?
I'm interested in recycling as fuel all the coarse dust, chips, shavings, and small otherwise useless pieces that I can. Can anyone tell me, from personal experience, how to convert such matter into ...
user1457
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Large hole filler products, what is available
Now and then when turning I get holes and voids in my project. The pictures below had a branch going through the blank and popped out leaving a large hole to deal with. The hole is ~1" in diameter.
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Is working with MDF going to kill me?
MDF is pretty cool stuff. Been around for a fair amount of time now. Stuff is used lots now and days. Dimensionally stable and cost effective for a great deal of projects. Problem is that MDF is made ...
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Can wood dust cause irritation to other people in the house?
My husband has a lathe and sander set up in our basement where our furnace is. We have a very small, old house and that's the only place it fits. There is no ventilation whatsoever down there so he ...
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Which solvents can be stored in which plastics? -- is there an organic chemist in the house?
Now that coffee cans, and even larger glass bottles, are becoming hard to find, my workshop's pile of containers is mostly plastic. This has me wondering/worrying about which plastics might be ...
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Food safe potting/knot filling compound
I recently made an end grain cutting board. Unfortunately I didn't pay enough attention during the glue up and I have a couple of knots/knot holes that go through the board. The largest hole is ...
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Tips for recognizing aged pressure treated wood
New lumber that is pressure treated will have tags that identify the chemical used. More noticeably is the green or brown colors from the treating process. So newer wood is easier to identify as ...
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What type(s) of glue can I use on wooden kitchen utensils and devices?
If I want to repair a kitchen utensil and want to be (totally) sure there is nothing poisonous, cancerous, allergenic, [fill in your adjective] in the glue. What should I choose?
Fish glue, rabbit ...
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What common woods produce the safest/most harmful dust?
I inherited a bunch of my tools from an woodworker who had developed a severe lung condition due in part to sawdust. I've had lung problems my whole life so have been mindful of this via dust ...
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What kind of wood dust is toxic/dangerous and requires usage of dust mask?
I have a dust mask but I wonder if it is worth wearing when working on pine wood. I do wear it when working a piece of oak or beech.
Would you consider cutting some wood species without a mask safe? ...
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Is there a canonical source for retrieving Material Safety Data Sheets? [closed]
Is there a convenient, easy-to-access source for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSes) that does not require registration or payment?
A good website or reference book for wood-working MSDSes should ...
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What woods or wood materials are unsafe for use in animal cages? [closed]
I want to build wooden toys/houses/things for caged pets, such as Degus, Hamsters, etc.
I'm aware that there are chemicals and glues used to make some wood products, such as MDF which make the dust ...
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Is it safe (for the animals) to use pressure treated wood for animal feeders and houses?
I've been keen on taking pallets and other woods from supply stores so that I can up-cycle them into small woodworking projects like birdhouses, feeders and lately wine racks.
There were some fence ...
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Safety when working Tasmanian Blackwood
I've heard that Tasmanian Blackwood has toxic sawdust. Just how toxic is this sawdust, and what precautions need to be taken when working with it?
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What are some safe finishes for indoor projects likely to be chewed on by a young child or infant?
I'm going to be putting together a crib for over the next few months for our first child. I found a blog that mentions shellac. Only, it doesn't exactly say that shellac is safe, only that it is ...
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What types of food-safe finishes work best for protecting wood that will be outdoors?
I am building some garden boxes out of Cedar. I'd like to protect them so that the wood lasts longer, but I am concerned about certain finishes that might leach contaminants into the soil. Is there ...
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