Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Walnut Dust
Jim Shaver Oakville, Ont.
>Hi,
I was in the shop today cutting some walnut on my bandsaw....and then my smoke detector went off. This is weird, this never happens with other woods....any ideas on why the walnut dust does that?
Thanks,
Take care,
Jim
Re:I know that walnut smokes very ............
Jamie Donaldson
>.........easily- did you burn the wood while cutting?
Re:I know that walnut smokes very ............
Jim Shaver Oakville, Ont.
>Hi Jamie,
It was not a cut that smoked at all....no marks on the wood either..
:-)
Take care,
Jim
Re:I know that walnut smokes very ............
Barry Irby
>Jim, there are two types of smoke detectors. One is basically an electric eye that looks across a gap and if smoke passes throguh it blocks the eye and the unit goes off. The other type uses some small amount of radiaoactive material and detects the fumes of combustion. You want the one that actually detects the fumes out side your bathroom door, becasue it is unaffected by steam, but you want the electric eye version near the kitchen becasue burning the bacon won't set it off, unless you really burn it.
It's possible the dust from your sawing got to your unit and set it off by blocking the eye. Clean the unit by vacuuming it out.
I suppose its also possibe you have a third type which is designed to drive the inhabitants of Ellis Island nuts.
Happy New Year.
Your walnut is defective
Lee Schierer, McKean, PA
>The smoke detector going off is a sure sign that you have defective walnut. You should take it all out of your shop and place it out by the curb. Let me know when it is out by the curb and I will insure the trash man stops by and picks it up right away.
Lee