Embarrassing lesson, but careful with CA glue!

[Ed Lang]

My reaction to CA fumes are a bit different.... I get the burn in the eyes but about three hours later I have a hard time breathing. The hard time breathing lasts for several hours. Yes, it does get worse with each exposure. I didn't know what was causing it at first and found out over a period of several days. I now use epoxy or Gorilla glue for gluing pen blanks together.

I hope all of the shop equipment is OK. You are typing so you must be OK.

[Bonnie Campbell]

I can really sympathize with you. I didn't do the CA thing. I was cleaning a bullet mould with spray brake cleaner and, you guessed it, hit the curve in the mould with the stream and straight into my eyes! Talk about screaming! I'm really surprised the police didn't show up. Fortunately we had just the day before picked up some sterile eye cleaner to have on hand. Now I've learned that eye protection, no matter how small the job, is the FIRST thing to do

[Eugene A. Manzo III]

What is CA Glue ???

[Don Eddard]

What is CA Glue ???

Cyanoacrylate, a.k.a. Super Glue.

[Kyle Kraft]

Nathan,
I'm glad to hear you survived the CA grinding fiasco. On the lighter side, your description of the event was exquisite!!!! You would have surely won the grand prize in the funniest video contest!!! I was laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair!!

[Mike Cutler]

As an aside to this reaction - I note that after a day working with a handful of woods, I wake up in the morning with eyes swollen, sometimes all the way shut.

Cocobolo, bubinga, jatoba...they all make me crazy, and I wake up looking 30 years older. Have to take anti-histamines to be able to function. Something about the oils, I had thought. Maybe I'm allergy-prone for some of this stuff? I don't know. I do have a really nice respirator that I use when I work on the lathe and when I do some of this work. It was hanging, fully charged and neatly coiled on the wall about 3 feet from where I was grinding.

Am I the only one that does stuff like this? As I've asked others, is my only purpose in the shop to serve as an example to others of things *NOT* to do?

Nope.
The woods that you have listed are known, common skin and eye irritants That can cause poison ivy like symptoms,aespecially the cocobola. Most of the members of the rosewood family can be a significant irritant.
As to your reaction to CA glue. I would stop using it. That response is way above normal.
I can't work with mahogany. It makes the front of my face numb like a novicaine shot. The other woods you listed are fine though. People are different.

[Rick Hubbard]

Just FYI, here is the link to an MSDS for one brand of CA

http://www.rockler.com/tech/RTD20000312AA.pdf

I'd definely see a doc regarding your reaction. Sounds like (from the MSDS) that you may need some "soecial attention."

[Tyler Howell]

Cool!!!
You could sell that formula to some of the dopers out there
Glad you're feeling better.

[Matt Meiser]

Sounds like (from the MSDS) that you may need some "soecial attention."

Thats why he posted here--we are a very social group.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Assuming of course that your typical pain / discomfort response is not to go running about like a beheaded chicken - assuming that - - - It sounds like you and CA should never pair up again at all - - ever.
You gotta be way seriously allergic to something in the stuff.