Chiff and Fipple Forums

A bloke I've known slightly for many years is (or as of now, was) a very good furniture maker, specializing in clever re-use of recycled timber.

He's dying. Horribly. Of oropharyngeal cancer. It started as what seemed to be a dental abscess, but after the tooth was removed the hole continued to enlarge. Ate away most of his palate. Drastic surgery and reconstruction got a palate back, but the tumour recurred. He has just gone blind because the tumours have grown to such an extent they've swallowed up his eyes.

Wood dust and formaldehyde fumes are a frequent cause of this.

That includes the dust kicked up in making flutes, whistles and pipes.

Use an extractor hood. Wear a mask. Whatever it takes.

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Thank you for posting this, I'll be passing it on. I have a musician friend who is stubbornly neglectful of wearing a dust mask when he should.

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This, a thousand times this,

If you work with dust, wear a mask.
If you work with paint, ventilate, do it outside with a mask.

My father got "schilders ziekte" Dutch for the disease 70% of lifelyhood painters suffer from after many years. It eats away your brain, it is a horrible sad way to go...

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I learned this real fast. I started out small, making pens. Within a week of turning a few rosewood, purpleheart, and other pens, I developed a cough that lasted me for a good six months! Now, I don't go anywhere near the lathe without proper protection.