Pau Ferro

Has anybody out there had any experience with bending/working Pau Ferro wood? Looks beautiful and I bought some to try.
Thanks

I haven't bent Pau Ferro, but I did make a band saw box in college with it. Very pretty wood. Don't breathe the dust of it when you sand it though... I had a strong allergic reaction. I puffed up and got blisters all over. I later read it was poisonous (like poison oak). I wasn't allowed to use hot water or regular soap for months. I didn't have any problems handling it with my bare hands. It was just the sanding process that got me. It would probably be OK if you had a mask on.
–Lori

Wow,
Lori, thanks for the heads up. I generally don't use any dust mask when I work wood so I woulda been a world of hurt.

I've never heard of it..but "Pau ferro" is an anagram of " a UFO repro"

At the big bad factory, we made a model out of Pau Ferro. It sent half of the workers to the Dr. for Cortizone shots and ointment. It makes for a nasty rash and respiratory maladies.... Just sayin

Ovangkol (Shedua) is near the same look, a little more yellow, and only half as bad for you in my opinion.

Timbuck said:

I've never heard of it..but "Pau ferro" is an anagram of " a UFO repro"

Click to expand...

I looked like an alien after the allergic reaction!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pau_ferro
–Lori

Cocobolo is another hardwood that can cause allergic reactions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocobolo

I have made a few ukes with Pau Ferro. I have not experienced any skin or other problems. I find it a very nice wood to work with and the board I had wonderful black and brown lines. The instruments looked very classy. It sanded well, and finished very well.

This stuff is really beautiful with the same brown and black lines. Almost chocolate looking. I'm looking forward to working with it but I am sure glad you all told me about the reactions!! I was chastised yesterday by a friend when she found out I don't use a dust mask. I'll start. In all my years of woodworking I haven't ever used a dust mask.

My only experience with Pau Ferro (Monkey Pod) is helping saw it on a Wood Mizer. I have worked with Cocobolo with no reaction, however I have had reaction to Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) it made me itch and turn red, no rash so to speak but definitely gave me a red color to my skin and itched like crazy.

my take on wearing disk masks is as follows... If the mask does not filter out 1 micron to .5 micron or finer, it really is not going to help protect you from the "dangerous Dust Particles". It is the fine dust that is dangerous. Now a mask may help keep you from sneezing, and from having snot the color of the wood your working with... a better solution is to plane, scrape and rasp as much as possible and sand as little as possible, and have good ventilation. The end result will be nicer also, at least in my experience.

At least thats my take.