Originally Posted by
Geoff Crimmins
A friend came back from Hawaii with a large turning blank that he said was monkey pod. Even with two dust collectors running, everyone who went into his shop while he was turning it had a strong allergic reaction to the dust. It took me about 30 seconds in his shop before I was a sneezing, snotting mess like I had just walked into a giant cloud of pollen. I don't know exactly what species the wood was, but I've avoided anything with "monkey" or "pod" in the name ever since. My friend had a couple of smaller pieces of the wood that he gave away rather than turn.