# the smell of wood



## cowboy dan (Apr 11, 2010)

have you ever had some nice wood in your shop that when cut is just revolting to you? i have some. purpleheart. it smells bad. tulip wood on the other hand is refreshing. i just have to take the respirator off for just one good sniff. i like pine too. purpleheart...not so nice. sure does look good though


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

I've got a large pile of spalted red oak that smells like bad assiago cheese left in a hot car in the sun for 5 days!

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


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## scottw (Jan 27, 2011)

I have some purpleheart in my shop and have turned a lot of it i have never had it smell bad or leave a bad odor in my shop. But on the other hand i had some black walnut that i started turning and had to stop and get out of the shop it smelt like a skunk that just got raun over 20 times.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

purpleheart smells bad to me if it's fresher or if you burn it while cutting. Older doesn't seem as bad. Love me the smell of claro walnut, canarywood, tulipwood, cocobolo, tambooti (sandalwood). My all time favorite though is turning some Douglas Fir burl. Smells like you spilled a jar of Pinesol in your shop, but in a good way.:yes: Some times I have a leftover piece that has been in a box or drawer so long the only way I can tell what it is is by smell.


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## jaxonquad (Jan 26, 2011)

sawdustfactory said:


> purpleheart smells bad to me if it's fresher or if you burn it while cutting. Older doesn't seem as bad. Love me the smell of claro walnut, canarywood, tulipwood, cocobolo, tambooti (sandalwood). My all time favorite though is turning some Douglas Fir burl. Smells like you spilled a jar of Pinesol in your shop, but in a good way.:yes:


Douglas fir is on the top of my list too!


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

Working at a sawmill years ago, you could tell what kind of log you were cuttiing into by the smell a lot of the time. The difference between red oak and white, the smell (good) of walnut, and that of sassafrass and cherry. Then you come to the sulfurous stench of cottonwood that had grown in the bottoms. Don't like gray elm either. Red elm wasn't so bad. And I swear I used to be able to decect a difference between hickory and pecan.


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## Nate1778 (Mar 10, 2008)

I love the sweet smell of cherry.


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## cowboy dan (Apr 11, 2010)

wow, so many different types of smells. i don't think i could stand them rotten smells. i have to live with my shoes on just so i can breath. if i took my shoe of, i'd gag. now if my shop smelled similar to that just from a piece of wood, i would have big problems... it would be burned in a pit, at a friends house....lol


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## Doorguy (Aug 29, 2011)

My worste is spanish cedar. I have to work with it alot, and I can still taste it when I get home. I have noticed that if cypress is a little wet it has a fermented smell.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Know what smells cool while cutting/drilling? Paduch. It smells like cotton candy or various confections. One of my brothers, who owns a cabinet shop, says the dust of paduch is "poisonous" to breathe. It that true? It sure is a pretty wood though.

And I agree about the Douglas Fir. My latest 'tradition' I've started last Christmas is to save some wood from our Christmas tree to make at least one ornament to go on future trees. That way a piece of each year's tree will be with us forever and used again each new Christmas.


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## Doorguy (Aug 29, 2011)

Cool idea, on the christmas tree. I have heard black walnut is poison.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Neither paduak or walnut are "poisonous". Walnut contains a fungicide that will damage some plants and is harmful to horse' hooves. All wood dust can cause allergic reactions to those with sensitivities. Long term exposure may increase these sensitivities. Excessive exposure has been linked to respiratory diseases and cancer, but according to a pulmonologist friend, even serious hobbyists don't come near the levels of this.


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## jaxonquad (Jan 26, 2011)

Doorguy said:


> My worste is spanish cedar. I have to work with it alot, and I can still taste it when I get home. I have noticed that if cypress is a little wet it has a fermented smell.


An old cattle farmer once told me, in the winter he knows when a big storm is heading in, because his cattle will begin to eat from his cypress trees. He said it ferments faster in their bellys, producing more body heat.


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## aaronhl (Jun 2, 2011)

I've bought some square dowels at Home Depot that smelled a little fishyyyyyyyy


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If you're prone to wood sniffing, get you some mansonia. It smells like black pepper when you cut it.


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## diywoodworker (Jul 27, 2011)

I personally hate the smell of hickory. Meat tastes good smoked with it, but working it smells terrible. I like cherry, impartial toward walnut, and maple is alright. Hickory is the giveaway if my respirator isn't tightly sealed!


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

I was cutting veneer from a cherry burl today and got a little burn from the blade. Smelled amazing.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Steve Neul said:


> If you're prone to wood sniffing, get you some mansonia. It smells like black pepper when you cut it.


I LOVE the smell of freshly ground peppercorns. I'm definitely a sniffer of the pepper. And of wood. I've never heard of mansonia. Just looked it up. Nice looking wood.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I love the smell of walnut when I'm working with it. Not too long ago though, I was working with some cedar and while cutting it, it smelled so bad that it made my eyes water. Turns out that I had eaten hot wings the night before and it was I that was cutting it. :yes: Really enjoyed those wings though.


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## CraigHaggarton (Jun 28, 2011)

It's too bad that some of the prettiest woods have the worst smells. I always find myself making comparisons:

Favorites: Padauk smells like a graham cracker. I love getting the chance to work with American Sassafras because it truly smells like root beer when you cut it.

Worst: Zebrawood. I'm starting to think it got it's name because it smells like a zebra.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Don't mind purpleheart at all. I've never noticed anything funky in the pieces I've used. Love Cocobolo, Paduak, Walnut and Cherry, not to mention Sandlewood and Cedar. Revolting to me? Macassar ebony... that stuff is nasty smelling.


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## klr650 (Apr 4, 2010)

I love the smell of Hemlock and Doug Fir, can cut it all day without problems - Black Walnut, while I like the smell it really keels my sinuses over bad. Same with Western Redcedar, have to wear a dust mask when working with it, else my sinuses swell up. Don't talk to me about Mahogany, if it wasn't so darn beautiful I'd never go near it.

Interestingly enough I never had these problems until recently. I'm wondering if I'm beginning to get a reaction to wood dust?


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

THat's what happens to a lot of people. Ok for a long time but eventually start to develop sensitivity to certain woods. Be careful, it can progress to full blown serious allergies.


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## Larry Sockwell (Mar 18, 2011)

Eastern Red Cedar and Pine are refreshing. Walnut sometimes smells like dirty socks.


Larry


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

Had the wonderful smell of sassafras in the shop a few weeks ago. Still get a whiff when I go out there.

Lately, I've had some hickory stinking to holy hell. Does all hickory smell that bad, or is it just my wood?


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## bob h. (Aug 29, 2007)

Catalpa (Indian Bean) reminds me of nutmeg and is rather pleasant smelling.

Bob


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

CraigHaggarton said:


> It's too bad that some of the prettiest woods have the worst smells. I always find myself making comparisons:
> 
> Favorites: Padauk smells like a graham cracker. I love getting the chance to work with American Sassafras because it truly smells like root beer when you cut it.
> 
> Worst: Zebrawood. I'm starting to think it got it's name because it smells like a zebra.


 The reason Sassafras smells like root beer is because root beer is made from the root or bark of the sassafrass tree. If you've ever watched an old western, you've heard of the drink sarsaparilla. Its the same stuff.


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