blackened hands - won't come off - whats the source?

I’m not sure about the cause or the solution, but your plight did remind me of that forum topic a while back questioning why we did not have more black members here at Lumberjocks.

I’m glad to see you doing your part to help out. :-)

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Yes you might have found the reverse of the problem that Michael J had. Maybe all the white is starting to wear off.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Could it be a combination of the wood and plane? Much like the nasty stains left by clamps on oak? A reaction of the sweat on you hands leaching tanic acid out of the wood the you grabing the fore and causing the usual reaction? Just a thought.

-- Jimmy, Oklahoma "It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm wearing milkbone underwear!"

Are you sure it is not residuals from the glue you used? Some glues can stain hands black.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

Thanks for the replies… more entertaining than informative – but thats good stuff too :)

Charlie – I’m doing my best…. whatEVER it takes !

Karson – do you have MJ’s doc contact info by any chance? maybe I’d give him a call (ok… that might be considered a bit over the top)

bayspt – I thought it might be something similar, but I wasn’t using oak, and I haven’t heard of Maple doing the same thing. which what led me to think – maybe Mahogany does?!? but I don’t really know.

John – definitely not glue, as it happened 2 times, and I usually don’t have contact with the glue with my palms – maybe sometimes just with 2 fingers…

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

sometimes when i spin mahogany, like walnut and oak , my hands get stained from the acids in the woods reacting with the sweat from my hands, the only thing i have found to remove the staining is vinager, it smells bad but it works pretty well. hope this helps.

-- Roper - Master of sawdust-www.coloradocustomworks.com

Thanks Roper- this is good to know. my wife uses vinegar to clean everything – so I have some at hand (I guess that would be literally when the time comes…)

the reason I’m asking this is because I might make the handles for the workbench vises out of mahogany – which would get constant use – but if the mahogany is what’s causing this – then that would be a poor choice of material

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Polyurethane glues like Gorilla will cause your hands to turn black.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

if you like the wood but are worried about your hands getting black just coat your handles with shellac, that will seal it right up.

-- Roper - Master of sawdust-www.coloradocustomworks.com

Karson – I only use Titebond I so far. but good thing to consider for future reference.

Thanks Roper – if shellac will do the trick, I’ll go that route (need to get shellac anyways for another project for some french polishing)

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

For Red Oak “ink stains” on my hands I’ve used lemon juice or gasoline.

-- There's many a slip betwixt a cup and a lip.--Scott

My first thought was that it must be from a tool. If your getting the heat I’m getting I imagine that some of the plastic compounds on handles or related may rub off. My only other thought would be if you were using a dye or similar and spilt in the past.

Perhaps throw on a pair of gloves and rub your hands all over the tools you used when this happened maybe you can reproduce the blackening.

I know its not the nicest stuff, but perhaps paint thinner would take it off.

Jeff, I tried reproducing it – but like murphy stated before -when you try, it won’t work… it only works when you don’t want it to.

poroskywood – thanks for the lemon juice idea – that, and the previously suggested vinegar might do the trick as natural cleaners. as for the gasoline – I’m trying to keep my MPG as high as possible…

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Maybe from that black stuff on the bottom of the bowling alley? I know I have been getting black hands allot lately from all the construction adhesive I am usuing….its waterproof and you cant really see it that good till it dries then its too late!

-- http://www.facebook.com/pages/DSO-Designs/297237806954248

Thanks David, but the tar on the bottom of the bowling alley is long gone, and since it’s tar, it’s rubbery and solid, and comes off real easy (within reason).

I wasn’t using any new materials, or adhesives, or anything of that sort. I was bend laminating the mahogany on the maple leg vise. using titebond I glue, and the rockler clamps… and trimmed it with the metal hand plane… that’s about it all that was in the equation.

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.