# Splinters from Red Cedar



## Beeguy

This may sound like a really strange post among woodworkers. Splinters and wood go hand in hand or should I say splinter in hand. I have been around wood my whole life and had countless splinters. Nothing new here. But recently I have been making some bird houses out of western red cedar. Every board I touch greets me with one or more. The problem I am having is if I don't get to it right away it turns red and really hurts. Sometimes they are so small I can't even see them but I can sure feel them.

I keep bees and whenever I tell someone that, the first thing they ask is do you get stung. My standard answer, does a carpenter get splinters? I have to say I will take 10 beestings over one of these cedar splinters.

Has anyone else ever notice this?


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## LeeBarker

Cedar and redwood splinters fester. Maybe all do and these fester faster, which can fluster. From this point of view, I think what you are experiencing is normal.

Some folks are very sensitive to cedar dust, as in allergic. Is it possible that you have a mild allergy to cedar and your body is reacting? Perhaps it is a combination of both.

Kindly,

Lee


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## dalec

Cedar is one of the woods that can cause allergic reactions in humans whether it is a splinter or ingested in the form of dust into our lungs. Some woods seem are more prone to cause irration and serious infections. Best to get the splinters out asap and to remember to put that dust mask on before making saw dust.

Dalec


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## Verna

Ron, sometimes applying CA glue to the splinter, letting it dry, and then peeling off the CA will lift the splinter out.

Sometimes applying tape (packing tape, blue painter's tape, masking tape) to the splinter will bring it out.

And, then, a method that will also bring out the infection and the splinter: cut a raw potato and put the raw part to your wound. You may have to leave it there for up to 30 minutes if it's a larger splinter. I'm serious, this will draw out the infection and the splinter. This saved me a visit to the ER many years ago on a Thanksgiving day after I got a splinter from my sister's "attack" cactus….did I mention that I hate that cactus because it always seems to attack me????

Good luck. Walnut is the wood splinter that I seem to be very sensitive to.


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## mtnwild

Yes, that's why I hate to work any cedar. Can be beautiful, but not worth it. I'm afraid of the dust too.

I don't even like the cedar shavings they put in gardens. Don't let your children get in there. And work with gloves with it.


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## Cosmicsniper

What was that, Lee? The flusteringly fine, faster-festering finger splinter?

LOL!


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## Beeguy

Thanks for the replies and the solutions. My favorite treatment for a deep or stubborn splinter is "Black Salve". As a kid growing up everyone had some of this in their medicine chests. It is sold under the name of ichthammol although I did not know that until I was an adult. It is an antiseptic, but all the sages of my youth would say that "it draws".


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## hObOmOnk

I use a lot of cedar in my craft business.
I mainly work outdoors, wear a dust mask and use gloves.


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## rance

Darn, Lee. I thought you were about to go into a Dr. Suess routine there. Feel free to if you'd like. We'd quite enjoy it. 

Yes, RW seems to irritate more, or as Lee put it "fester faster".


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## Pop

Leave old Lee alone. Maybe he's the Dr. Suess of woodworking. We could use one of those. "Would you like to build a box? No I don't want to build a box not even with a fox."

I love cedar. I sniff it with great pleasure. I'm not allergic to it. Some people are. Remember eastern red cedar is used as an insect repellent. If the cedar oil can do that it has to be toxic to some level. My advise is if you ARE allergic to it, stay away from it as much as possible. Most allergic reactions are cumulative. The more you're around the stuff the worse the reaction gets.

As for splinters, "You ante' seen nothing yet kid" try 1/4 inch lauan ply. You run it through your TS and it comes out looking like a porcupine.

Pop


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## superdav721

My wife has asthma and goes into coughing fits.


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## 2436

I'm finding red cedar dust is bothering me more over the years. I have to wear a good dust mask. I haven't noticed slivers yet, and I'm sure I've had some.


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## bobro

> Thanks for the replies and the solutions. My favorite treatment for a deep or stubborn splinter is "Black Salve". As a kid growing up everyone had some of this in their medicine chests. It is sold under the name of ichthammol although I did not know that until I was an adult. It is an antiseptic, but all the sages of my youth would say that "it draws".
> 
> - Beeguy


"Drawing Salve", what great stuff! It kills microbes and such and is good for all kinds of skin problems as well as splinters.


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## MrSmith670

I'm a carpenter. I can tell you that I do get splinters, although not nearly as often as my pre-carpenter days. Drawing Salve works great to remove splinters. Another neat trick, taught to me by a old timer, is to place a small piece of raw bacon on the offending splinter, bandage it, and go to sleep. When you get up in the morning, more times than not, the splinter is either out, or a breeze to remove.

Good luck. Hope you figure it out.


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## SCOTSMAN

The way the old boys used to make short work of the dreaded red cedar splinter was to heat up a wire thread in the fire till it is cherry red, after a short time it becomes very red, then then ready red, and eventually ready cherry very red ,this wire thread.Simply apply it to your ceder red spinter till it bled and take yourself of to bedie bed.Actually some people don't believe in this red re-med y, so it's been said it's always worked for Ted and my pal Fred.
Alistair slightly ashamed to add my name to this crap LOL .


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