Has anyone ever run into a problem of odors from wood being strong
enough to noticed after some time?
I use tung oil (not always but for finishing some projects so a pint
lasts me nearly a year). When I am working on a project I always
change from my good clothes into clothes I wear for woodworking (I
work in an office where business casual means slacks and dress shirt).
I also always shower in the morning before dressing for work. Yet the
hypotheses at my office is that either a couple small wooden bowls are
giving an oily smell 9 months after being completed that can be
smelled throughout the area or the oil has gotten into my work clothes
or skin. Honestly, I don't bath in tung oil. I get a little on my
hands when applying it and I wash my hands afterwards. I don't drink
it or use it on my hair.
I personally can't see how woodworking or tung oil could be the
culprit. My office has no ventilation and the only air exchange takes
place when the door is open.
I work in an environment where doors must be closed and locked when we
are not there.
I previously ran a test where I removed everything from my office that
was not issued to me by my employeer even the house plants. After a
week the smell persisted. Then after returning everything to my office
and running the AC unit (which provides only air circulation and no
air exchange) 24 hours a day and even through a weekend did the smell
go away. The building I'm in is nearly 100 years old and my office
has no air exchange except when the door is open which I now can have
open because of the smell.
"william kossack" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> After the complaint I grabbed the two bowls and took them out to my
> car.
Did you leave them out in the car for a time? Being closed, the odor would
probably saturate the car in a coupl eof hours. You may want to put them in
a plastic bag for a day and see if the odor permeates.
> My guess is
> the redwood had picked up the smell from the air.
Perhaps yo should talk to your co-workerks about what they eat. Maybe the
guy down the hall farts a lot ;)
Ed
On 1 Dec 2003 13:02:04 -0800, [email protected] (william kossack)
wrote:
>...the
>hypotheses at my office is that either a couple small wooden bowls are
>giving an oily smell 9 months after being completed that can be
>smelled throughout the area or the oil has gotten into my work clothes
>or skin.
>I personally can't see how woodworking or tung oil could be the
>culprit.
Neither can I. My experience with linseed oil and tung oil finishes
is that the odor can stick around for many days on a workpiece, or for
as long as a couple of days on my hands, but certainly not nine
months. Not unless you keep *pools* of oil in those bowls.
Then again, you said tung oil and I said tung oil *finish*. If you're
talking about pure tung oil, then I know nothing about what it does
over time.
But if the bowls are responsible for the odor, then it ought to be
strongest with your nose right next to one of the bowls, and that
ought to make it easy to confirm or rule them out as the source. And
if it's in your clothes or skin, then the odor ought to come and go
from the area at about the same times you do. Not to mention that
you'd *see* the oil on light-colored clothing. Based on what you've
said, I'd look elsewhere for the source of the odor.
--
Chuck Taylor
http://home.hiwaay.net/~taylorc/contact/
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > A few minutes later, the odor of burning Limburger cheese wafted into the
> > passenger compartment.
> <...>
> > A few minutes later, the odor of fecal matter wafted into the passenger
> > compartment.
>
> limburger cheese... fecal matter... pretty much the same substance in my
> book.
only difference is one of them is USDA approved for human consumption
>
> Years ago I was invited on a day fishing trip with a friend and his
> father-in-law. Their tradition was to eat Limburger cheese and wash it
> down with beer at the conclusion of the day - stuff smelled like sewage
> and tasted just as bad. I'm not a beer drinker, but I can guarantee you
> I downed at least one or two in quick succession after that first and
> only bite of cheese.
>
>
Last Xmas I made my first "real" wood project (not plywood), a kleenex
box cover, for my wife. I finished it with Watco Danish oil and
furniture wax. It was beautiful and i was proud of it. My wife loved
it. But the first time I pulled a tissue and went to blow my nose,
whew!, the aroma of the oil which had permeated the cardboard box and
into the tissue was overwhelming. Now a year later the box sits
proudly displayed on the nightstand, the aroma has diminished to
almost nothing, but we go to the bathroom to get a tissue. Lesson
learned.
Ian
[email protected] (william kossack) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Has anyone ever run into a problem of odors from wood being strong
> enough to noticed after some time?
If that smell is coming from farts I shudder to think what anyone is
eating. Most of the time I can't smell it because I'm in the office 8
hours a day. When I can smell it it is an oily solvent kind of
smell....My farts don't smell like that so it can't be me)-!
I'm going to bag the redwood bowl this morning in a ziplock. The bowls
were in the car for a good 6 hours.
The smell is possibly coming from elsewhere but nobody believes me.
Even though the window can't be opened it leaks like nuts. One day when
they were mowing the lawn in front of the building I had to get up and
leave my office because the smell of the fumes from the mower became
really strong in my office.
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>"william kossack" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
>
>>After the complaint I grabbed the two bowls and took them out to my
>>car.
>>
>>
>
>Did you leave them out in the car for a time? Being closed, the odor would
>probably saturate the car in a coupl eof hours. You may want to put them in
>a plastic bag for a day and see if the odor permeates.
>
>
>
>
>> My guess is
>>the redwood had picked up the smell from the air.
>>
>>
>
>Perhaps yo should talk to your co-workerks about what they eat. Maybe the
>guy down the hall farts a lot ;)
>
>Ed
>
>
>
>
I ran a test today.
After the complaint I grabbed the two bowls and took them out to my
car. One was from
Redwood burl that I did a year ago and the other (natural edged maple) I
just finished but
did not put any oil on it only salad bowl finish.
The redwood had some kind of smell on it last week kind of petrolium
oily smell. When I got
home I asked my wife to smell the redwood and she could not smell
anything on it. My guess is
the redwood had picked up the smell from the air.
The second test was to keep the AC running all the time for now on not
even turning it off
at the end of the day. This previously seemed to decrease the smell.
The only problem is
that a service guy was in the office today and looked at the unit and
could not find a problem
with his quick examination
william kossack wrote:
>Has anyone ever run into a problem of odors from wood being strong
>enough to noticed after some time?
>
>I use tung oil (not always but for finishing some projects so a pint
>lasts me nearly a year). When I am working on a project I always
>change from my good clothes into clothes I wear for woodworking (I
>work in an office where business casual means slacks and dress shirt).
> I also always shower in the morning before dressing for work. Yet the
>hypotheses at my office is that either a couple small wooden bowls are
>giving an oily smell 9 months after being completed that can be
>smelled throughout the area or the oil has gotten into my work clothes
>or skin. Honestly, I don't bath in tung oil. I get a little on my
>hands when applying it and I wash my hands afterwards. I don't drink
>it or use it on my hair.
>
>I personally can't see how woodworking or tung oil could be the
>culprit. My office has no ventilation and the only air exchange takes
>place when the door is open.
>
>I work in an environment where doors must be closed and locked when we
>are not there.
>
>I previously ran a test where I removed everything from my office that
>was not issued to me by my employeer even the house plants. After a
>week the smell persisted. Then after returning everything to my office
>and running the AC unit (which provides only air circulation and no
>air exchange) 24 hours a day and even through a weekend did the smell
>go away. The building I'm in is nearly 100 years old and my office
>has no air exchange except when the door is open which I now can have
>open because of the smell.
>
>
"Fly-by-Night CC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
<snip>
> Years ago I was invited on a day fishing trip with a friend and his
> father-in-law. Their tradition was to eat Limburger cheese and wash it
> down with beer at the conclusion of the day - stuff smelled like sewage
> and tasted just as bad. I'm not a beer drinker, but I can guarantee you
> I downed at least one or two in quick succession after that first and
> only bite of cheese.
SWMBO & her Dad enjoyed(is that possible?) Limburger, sweet onions on Rye
bread. I finally let her talk me into taking a bite, & she near got trampled
to death so I could get to the bathroom to spit it out! Think I used up most
of a bottle of Scope trying to kill the taste.
Nahmie
Never had that problem, but it reminded me of the time we put some
skunk cover scent (deer hunter) on a cotton ball and dropped it
down inside a door jamb of a guy's office who had cheated us out
of some work... They blamed it on the ballasts in the lights,
something bad in the fridge, etc...etc... Hehehehehehe we got a
LOT of mileage out of that stunt...
"william kossack" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Has anyone ever run into a problem of odors from wood being
strong
> enough to noticed after some time?
>
> I use tung oil (not always but for finishing some projects so a
pint
> lasts me nearly a year). When I am working on a project I
always
> change from my good clothes into clothes I wear for woodworking
(I
> work in an office where business casual means slacks and dress
shirt).
> I also always shower in the morning before dressing for work.
Yet the
> hypotheses at my office is that either a couple small wooden
bowls are
> giving an oily smell 9 months after being completed that can be
> smelled throughout the area or the oil has gotten into my work
clothes
> or skin. Honestly, I don't bath in tung oil. I get a little on
my
> hands when applying it and I wash my hands afterwards. I don't
drink
> it or use it on my hair.
>
> I personally can't see how woodworking or tung oil could be the
> culprit. My office has no ventilation and the only air exchange
takes
> place when the door is open.
>
> I work in an environment where doors must be closed and locked
when we
> are not there.
>
> I previously ran a test where I removed everything from my
office that
> was not issued to me by my employeer even the house plants.
After a
> week the smell persisted. Then after returning everything to my
office
> and running the AC unit (which provides only air circulation and
no
> air exchange) 24 hours a day and even through a weekend did the
smell
> go away. The building I'm in is nearly 100 years old and my
office
> has no air exchange except when the door is open which I now can
have
> open because of the smell.
"solarman" writes:
> Never had that problem, but it reminded me of the time we put some
> skunk cover scent (deer hunter) on a cotton ball and dropped it
> down inside a door jamb of a guy's office who had cheated us out
> of some work... They blamed it on the ballasts in the lights,
> something bad in the fridge, etc...etc... Hehehehehehe we got a
> LOT of mileage out of that stunt...
You are making be go waaay back but the following actually happened while I
was in high school.
These two guys, each had their own car and didn't particularly like each
other.
One weekend, guy #1 came back to his car after the Friday night football
game, got in it and started driving.
A few minutes later, the odor of burning Limburger cheese wafted into the
passenger compartment.
Stopped the car, lifted the hood, and saw a strange substance on the hot
exhaust manifold.
Mystery solved.
The next weekend, guy #2 came back to his car after the Friday night
football game, got in it and started driving.
A few minutes later, the odor of fecal matter wafted into the passenger
compartment.
Stopped the car, lifted the hood, and saw a strange substance on the hot
exhaust manifold.
Again, mystery solved.
Nobody ever admitted anything, and it never happened again.
--
Lew
S/A: Challenge, The Bullet Proof Boat, (Under Construction in the Southland)
Visit: <http://home.earthlink.net/~lewhodgett> for Pictures
"Ian Dodd" <[email protected]> wrote in message ...
> But the first time I pulled a tissue and went to blow my nose,
> whew!, the aroma of the oil which had permeated the cardboard box and
> into the tissue was overwhelming. Now a year later the box sits
> proudly displayed on the nightstand, the aroma has diminished to
> almost nothing, but we go to the bathroom to get a tissue. Lesson
> learned.
I wonder if a coat of shellac on the inside would help seal the odor and
keep it from permeating the inside box?
Ed
In article <[email protected]>,
"Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote:
> A few minutes later, the odor of burning Limburger cheese wafted into the
> passenger compartment.
<...>
> A few minutes later, the odor of fecal matter wafted into the passenger
> compartment.
limburger cheese... fecal matter... pretty much the same substance in my
book.
Years ago I was invited on a day fishing trip with a friend and his
father-in-law. Their tradition was to eat Limburger cheese and wash it
down with beer at the conclusion of the day - stuff smelled like sewage
and tasted just as bad. I'm not a beer drinker, but I can guarantee you
I downed at least one or two in quick succession after that first and
only bite of cheese.
--
Owen Lowe and his Fly-by-Night Copper Company
Offering a shim for the Porter-Cable 557 type 2 fence design.
<http://www.flybynightcoppercompany.com>
<http://www.easystreet.com/~onlnlowe/index.html>
Look and see if the HVAC has an oil leak and/or where the oil is
getting into the ducts somehow.
On 1 Dec 2003 13:02:04 -0800, [email protected] (william kossack)
wrote:
>Has anyone ever run into a problem of odors from wood being strong
>enough to noticed after some time?
>
>I use tung oil (not always but for finishing some projects so a pint
>lasts me nearly a year). When I am working on a project I always
>change from my good clothes into clothes I wear for woodworking (I
>work in an office where business casual means slacks and dress shirt).
> I also always shower in the morning before dressing for work. Yet the
>hypotheses at my office is that either a couple small wooden bowls are
>giving an oily smell 9 months after being completed that can be
>smelled throughout the area or the oil has gotten into my work clothes
>or skin. Honestly, I don't bath in tung oil. I get a little on my
>hands when applying it and I wash my hands afterwards. I don't drink
>it or use it on my hair.
>
>I personally can't see how woodworking or tung oil could be the
>culprit. My office has no ventilation and the only air exchange takes
>place when the door is open.
>
>I work in an environment where doors must be closed and locked when we
>are not there.
>
>I previously ran a test where I removed everything from my office that
>was not issued to me by my employeer even the house plants. After a
>week the smell persisted. Then after returning everything to my office
>and running the AC unit (which provides only air circulation and no
>air exchange) 24 hours a day and even through a weekend did the smell
>go away. The building I'm in is nearly 100 years old and my office
>has no air exchange except when the door is open which I now can have
>open because of the smell.