A Mixed Bag
by Various Authors/Instructors

This month's review is another variant on what I typically do.  We have an excellent article in the newsletter this month regarding wood toxicity..  As such, the board thought it would be good to supplement that information with references to publications on the subject in our library.  So, I reviewed a few things and listed them here.  I hope you can use them to your advantage…

The book I went to first, and probably the best resource available in book form (within the realm of our library anyway) is "Woodshop Dust Control" by Sandor Nagyszalanczy (Geez I hope that spelling is right!).  This is a fairly recent addition to our library, and information-packed with regard to being health-conscious in the workshop.  As I browsed the contents, I didn't really see anything specific to toxicity of wood species, but I did find a wealth of information regarding how bad wood dust can be, and how to arrest offending debris before it ever hits the 'ole schnozola.  Mr. "N" has included much in the way of health risks, respiratory ailments, respirators, and the like.  If you're serious about educating yourself on the hazards of our hobby, you would do well to take a look at this book.

Aside from our texts, another reference which contains many articles over a long period of time, is our collection of Fine Woodworking magazines.  I found many good articles on the subject of toxicity by a diverse group of authors.  I've included some of the more in-depth offerings here by issue number;

# 009 - Health Hazards in Woodworking - describes risks associated with exotics such as African Blackwood/Mahogany, Cocobolo, etc.

# 041 - Respiratory Hazards - describes risks associated with dust from Boxwood, Cashew, Ebony, etc.
# 114 - When Wood Fights Back - how wood harbors hidden health risks, even seemingly benign species like Douglas Fir, Oak, Pine, etc.

# 127 - Protecting Your Lungs From Woodworking - more about masks and respirators than wood, but critical info none-the-less.

These and other issues also contain information about additional species in the Letters and Methods of Work sections near the front of the magazine.  And don't forget  - in addition to discussions about wood, there are many additional risks to consider with the various adhesives and finishes used on pieces!  This publication contains a wealth of information on these subjects as well.

In addition to FWW, I know many members have or have had subscriptions to BH&G Wood magazine.  Many older issues selected a certain species as a featured wood in a "Wood Profile" segment.  This one to two page article usually described it's history, region of growth, color, density, etc.  Among the final checklist of performance characteristics (the "Wood at a Glance" box) was an entry on toxicity.  The ratings scale measured one to five with shaded skull and crossbones used to indicate low or high danger levels.  You may want to check your collection as a quick reference to these.

I titled this month's review "A Mixed Bag", because in addition to the toxicity information, I also had time to review a new DVD, made possible due to a generous donation by Don Snyder.  The DVD is entitled "Wood Bending" and is from the Technical Techniques Series by Marc Adams.  It runs about an hour, and contains everything you would want to learn about forming and bending wood and laminations.  If you're not familiar with Marc Adams, suffice it to say he has earned a great reputation as an instructor - check out his credentials;

• owned one of the largest custom woodworking shops in Indiana before he was 30
  - became a technical consultant in 1991 to the American Government, and several independent organizations
  - won the Indiana Artist/Craftsman of the Year award three times
  - co-authored Working with Plastic Laminates
  - lectures nationally for universities and guilds

In this DVD, Marc takes you through every phase of wood bending, beginning with how wood behaves under bending stress (tension vs. compression), and how to deal with it.  He also mentions behavioral characteristics of both hardwoods and softwoods, and how each fails.  To achieve the kind of success he's had, follow these guidelines;

• use wood with a moisture content of 6-12% - it's a must for workability
• construct bending forms of particle board or MDF for stability
• expect "springback" in the piece (he explains how to compensate for that in form designs)
• any good wood glue will work, but he tends to work with water-based glues, (though he uses Urea-Formaldehyde in the demo, which surprised me because he didn't make much of an issue over the risks to using it)
• choose a bending method based on material availability, your own ability, the application, and what you are comfortable with;
• steam-box; a technique that saturates wood with hot water vapor to render it pliable
• hot pipe; a technique that coaxes thin wet wood into curving by localizing dry heat
• kerf-cut; running a series blind, parallel cuts into solid wood or plywood to reduce rigidity

The end of the presentation gets into some neat tricks with tapered laminations and vacuum pressing.  A quick mention of locale, and how atmospheric pressure plays with the vacuum pump wraps it up.

I jumped around quite a bit with this month's article, but I hope you find some of this information useful.  I think the DVD is a great addition to our ever-expanding section of multi-media entries.  Just be careful when handling these - it's best to hold a DVD on it's edges to avoid finger prints and/or scratches on the recorded side.  Most, if not all items mentioned in this article are currently available for check-out in the Guild library.