A cautionary note on scrap wood

[cv3]

This may be old news to many of you but I had been carving for a number of years and had never thought or heard of this issue. I live near a large sea port here in Mobile and I had a friend that would bring me scraps of wood he call dunage form the docks. This was a number of years ago. These were mostly 2 to 4 feet long and mostly 2x4 and 4x4 in size but they were woods like Mahogany, Walnut, great woods from all around the world. I thought it was a wonderful deal. The problem that I was not aware of, having not been around woods used in shipping, was that there was no way of knowing what they had been sprayed with in the ports out side the US. Then one day my hands broke out in a bad rash. Making a long and painful story short it was from insecticides sprayed on the wood. I am very grateful I had good dust management and ware a mask. I am now very carful about were scrap wood has been before I use it. This can be an issue for woods that come out of old factories building and old farms also. I learned the hard way to be very carful about this

[beeg]

THANKS for the heads up. That's one hazard I did knot think of.

[kalynzoo]

Always nice to be reminded how fragile the human species really is. With just a moments thought I can conjure up arsenic preservatives, lead paint, bromide insecticides, imported spiders, and age old tetanus. :eek:
Stay safe, play safe, and Happy New Years.

[curiousgeorge]

You also have no way of knowing what has been shipped on those pallets. It could be anything.

[swampgator]

That is something I have given very little thought to. I like to recycle things, especially wood. When I toss it away, it is not worth keeping. And, what goes into the wood burn is really trash in my opinion, so I would run into this sooner or later. Guess I'll be wearing some kind of glove until I can tell the exterior of any recycled board has been saturated with some kind of visible chemical. But on second thought, it may be better to simply know for sure where the stock comes from. It could danger others who use it for your designed purpose. Thanks for the heads up.

In Pensacola, FL near Mobile, AL

[Ed in Tampa]

Also some woods are fairly toxic and many of this kind are used in foreign countries in shipping framing and pallets. There is a wood that I know as iron wood that will raise a blister on my hide in a New York minute. Also a splinter from cocobolo will result in a fair infection for me.

One last thing much of the wood in dunnage can have insect infestations that slip past inspection. If these bugs get into the rest of your shops wood you have problems.

My wife brough home a table made of bamboo or similar species. I noticed that there was a pile of very fine saw dust by the leg. I cleaned it up and the next day or two I noticed another pile. This time I did a investigation. I found out it was infested with some sort of tiny bug. It has to be infested before she brought it home. I managed to kill the little creatures but frankly the effort was more than the table was worth. I hate to think what could have happened if these bugs had gotten into other wood in the house or out in the shop.

No I have pretty much learned to say no thanks to salvage wood.

[nuhobby]

Good points!

Also here in Indiana there is a high-scale alert not to transport firewood (state to state). The Emerald Ash Borers are wiping out the ash trees in Indiana. It's been some time since I read about this; I think the insects were coming from north to south.

[paul269]

I live in a quarantined county and work with entomologists from Purdue University. I am not an expert but this is what I know. The Emerald Ash Borer lives in and destroys the tree’s bark which in turn eventually kills the tree. If the bark is removed (and burned) the lumber is usable. The quarantine only applies to wood with bark such as firewood. Feel free to use any ash lumber especially if it has been kiln dried.