{"id":737,"date":"2014-10-12T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2014-10-12T16:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=737"},"modified":"2014-10-12T12:00:01","modified_gmt":"2014-10-12T16:00:01","slug":"timborana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/timborana\/","title":{"rendered":"Timborana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
I had purchased a relatively small block of wood labelled Timborana at some point in the past, from where and exactly when are now mysteries. I had never worked with this wood before so it presented new opportunities and, it would prove, new challenges. While I am pleased with the end result, the process of getting to that point was not always easy.<\/a><\/p>\n When I cut the wood to round I noticed immediately that it was very dry and that it splintered very easily. I regret now that I didn’t take interim photos to demonstrate this. As is now my new habit, I marked center on both sides of the blank, while also marking which side would be the “face” of the bowl, the side on which the face plate would be mounted, and thus consequently largely cut away. Once between centers I turned to round. Once the lathe stopped, I could immediately see some of the worst end grain tearout I have ever seen along with gross splintering of the wood along the grain lines. And the pores were enormous, easily visible to the naked eye. But most grievous to me was the odor, or more accurately, the effect of any sort of dust from the wood. Immediately, my nose and throat were on fire and I had the uncontrollable urge to cough! I have worked with dozens of different species of wood at this point in my time as a wood turner and never have I encountered an adverse reaction to any wood, until now.<\/p>\n Certainly I have heard of such reactions and I have even seen them first hand with my Dad who has suffered fairly severe skin irritation in the form of actual fluid-filled blisters from working with an unidentified wood local to where he lives that was being removed to make way for a solar energy installation. Once the reaction occurred, I went upstairs to check the excellent reference source, the Wood Database<\/a>, which contains rather comprehensive information on hundreds of different wood species, including known allergic reactions and health risks<\/a>. Timborana wasn’t listed as having any known reactions but it does belong to a genus that has other species that are known to cause allergic reactions. I don’t think I would classify my reaction as “allergic” per se, but it was certainly not a benign reaction. The only way I could continue to work with the wood was through the use of a N95 respirator. Every time I tried to dispense with it, the reaction occurred again.<\/p>\nInitial Impressions and Reaction<\/h2>\n
Is It Timborana?<\/h2>\n