black walnut saw chips cause skin irritation

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porta mill

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Anyone ever get a skin irritation from black walnut saw dust ? I was cutting some black walnut the other day 85 + degrees out in the sun sweating like a pig the next thing I know my arms are burning. I cleaned off the wood chips and I see what looks like little chemical burns . I thought I was crazy I have cut black walnut and never had this problem . I did a search on the net and found out it is a skin irritant io some people .long sleeves the next time I cut black walnut .
 
yep, we call it walnut burn, only happens when your hot and sweaty, if you cut enough of it in a short period of time, it can make you look like you have a dark tan! and usually the skin that is affected will peel off in a week or so.
 
careful with that walnut sawdust

I don't know what is in walnut saw dust but it can be irratating. I used saw dust from the local saw mill for horse bedding years ago and had to make sure I wasn't getting walnut because it can be deadly to horses.
 
Old thread - I just did a search and found it (and my answer). Hot day a couple weeks ago I flush cut a walnut stump and got chips on my arm that stained spots kind of like the same stains when you get walnut juice on skin when shelling. I washed it off not thinking much of it since it didn't permanently stain. Then got red spots burned on my arm the next day and peeled a week later.
 
I know I am missing out on a lot of money from being able to sell BW logs but after hearing these I am glad they do not grow in my area.
 
Walnut will irritate some people when their pores are open from sweating. Use a mask if sanding it while woodworking. The fine dust is bad for lungs. It started breaking my arms out in the summer a few years back. Long sleeves will help.
 
Walnut must be like poison ivy; it must be more toxic to some people or critters than others. I lost a huge leader out of one of my trees during a storm this month. Sheep ate the leaves and thin bark like candy. Nobody dead or even bothered.
 
Sheep are tougher than horses. We worked a job for a horse farm a couple months ago. Cut every walnut and cherry on the place. They were vets and said that these two trees were harmful to horses.
 
Yeah sheep can eat anything. You hear stories about them eating clothes right off of clothes lines back in the day.

No, they won’t. My fussy SOB will not eat first crop hay. They will sift though it like a fine sieve and leave behind everything they find unpalatable. I HATE sheep.
 
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