Official Luthiers Forum!

Has anyone here had an adverse reaction to Sapele? I recently bought a board to make some necks and blocks. It's my first time working with it. After cutting down and working a few pieces into neck blocks, I came down with an awful sore throat. When it persisted for more than 48 hrs I went to the doctor, thinking I had finally managed to catch Covid after dodging the bullet these last two years. I've had 4 negative tests over 5 days (negative for the usual suspects like strep and flu as well) and the doc is fairly certain I had a reaction to the wood. I was prescribed steroids and they seem to be doing their job, but I'm going on a week+ now with a sore throat and I haven't been able to go into my shop and get any work done.

I'm familiar with a lot of the "problem" woods that cause these issues, but I don't recall ever hearing about Sapele before. So has anyone else dealt with this in Sapele specifically? Those of you who have had a bad reaction to other woods, what was your experience like? Most of the other luthiers I know have had a reaction to some sort of wood, but it seems to lean more towards skin and bronchial irritation (sneezing, cough, rash, etc.). I don't recall ever hearing of anyone getting a severe sore throat with no other issues. Just trying to narrow down the possibilities and figure out if it was indeed the wood that caused this. I've also invested in a nice 3m dust mask with cartridge filters and will be giving the shop a thorough (and overdue) top to bottom cleaning before getting back to work.

Thanks in advance,

Zac

I put in a HEPA filter that runs 24/7 and find it helps a LOT…

So Far Ive not had any adverse effects on any woods . I will admit its the first time ive heard of Sapelle doing it

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Most all tropical hardwoods have the potential to trigger allergic reactions. In worse cases, they can even cause cancer. Their chemical makeup has evolved to survive attack from insects, bacteria, and fungi. Those chemicals have varying levels of toxicity to humans.

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John

I've developed an allergy to cocobolo, it shows up as a skin rash.

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Jim Watts
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Everyone’s body is different and can react differently to allergens. I have no issues with cocobolo at all but my skin breaks into a rash with contact to Indian Rosewood. I was immune to poison Ivy until about 5 years ago. Now I scratch in misery.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, wear a good, well fitting respirator when working with any woods when fine dust is being produced, especially exotics.

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