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I happened upon a lovely piece of Padauk at a local lumber shop at the weekend which I’ve been resawing over the last couple of days.

Has anyone else had bad reactions to this stuff?

It makes my nose fizz and catches the back of the throat, also a headache, but I can’t be sure the padauk is the cause.

I’ve had extraction running and even resorted to wearing the air fed hood but it still seems to be affecting me.

Quite common. - https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/

Says

Padauk (Pterocarpus genus) - irritant, sensitizer, nausea, asthma

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Yeah, its bad stuff.. pretty toxic as wood goes.

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www.leddingtonguitars.com

That's too bad, generally I'm fine with it. Nicest smelling wood in my shop...

It also oxidizes into a not terribly attractive brown. Looks great when first cut.

I had no problems after building a jewelry box for my wife but It's a real shame it doesn't retain it's color. It isn't worth the bother since it's going to end up brown anyway although I disagree with it not being very attractive. May as well use walnut.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

If you never knew it started out a bright orange you wouldn't be disappointed in the final color. If you are not into bright orange guitars you might actually prefer it. Like Osage it has good "tonal" properties but suffers from the "aesthetics shift" when it changes color.
Like many of the woods we work with Padauk can be an irritant and you can be more or less sensitive to it. If after taking reasonable precautions you still find yourself bothered by it you may want to avoid it.

Will any of the pattern be retained as the wood darkens? It’s been a couple of days since it was planed.

Yes, all of it. It's just a color shift.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I wonder if anyone has tried bleaching padauk and then staining it?
Here is a brief article about testing various finishes to preserve the color. Surprisingly, dewaxed shellac came out on top.
https://www.woodworkerssource.com/blog/ ... the-color/

I’ve heard it can be an irritant. Fortunately it only irritates me at this point because of the red dust. I think it’s a sensitized too... right? Where you can become sensitive to it?
It sure does make a great sounding guitar though


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If you lacquer padauk it will stay reddish for quite some time i've built three with it. Oil it and it will brown within a year.

G.

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www.leddingtonguitars.com

Having worked with this wood more times than I care to embarrassingly admit, I must say I've never met a lovely piece of Padauk.

Oh the padauk negativity, and I love the stuff. I could do without the cavernous pores but the rest I like pretty much.

One of the earlier planks I bought to saw into guitar backs and sides was a 8/4 X 13 X 10' piece of padauk perfectly quartersawn and with some figure. It was 8-10 yrs ago and cost about $15/BF.

The plank in the pictures was planned by the local vendor and this piece has been leaning up against the wall outside my shop ever since. It may have darkened a little but the grain is still there as it was when I bought it. The tail end of the two bodies are on the bench now and freshly scraped. A little oranger than the plank, sure, but I like where the plank went on it's oxidation journey w/o any finish too.

I wiped a little shellac on the back cut off 2 years ago and don't think it has darkened much since. The figure has a bit of the chatoyance that snakewood does and it flashes as the light angle changes.

Nothing not to like except the pores and the paprika dust, keep the dust collection going!

Comes out of the bending process dark and blah, like many woods, but it comes right back with a little scraping or sanding.

edit, Some folks are sensitive to padauk as noted, if sensitive or after being sensitized it's probably best to avoid it cause it is possible the reaction can get worse. So many woods can cause allergic reactions, I guess you can count your lucky stars if you live a life in a wood shop and manage to avoid problems that can't be limited by easy to use PPE (protective gear).



Maybe there are different kinds of padauk, but I like what I have.







Cheers

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Yea, it has made me feel sick too. It might even be the smell of the stuff when you cut it... the air-fed hood ought to help. I have to stay out of my garage until I can't smell it in there anymore. Sorry I don't have any solutions. Besides the obvious dust control, I work with all the doors and windows open.