diff --git a/datastore/threadresults.nim b/datastore/threadresults.nim
index 3afdaad..39b2181 100644
--- a/datastore/threadresults.nim
+++ b/datastore/threadresults.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 
 import pkg/chronos/threadsync
 import pkg/threading/smartptrs
+import pkg/chronos
 import std/locks
+import std/sets
 
 import ./databuffer
 
@@ -35,6 +37,59 @@ type
     ## be free'ed along with the rest of the async env. This would
     ## result in likely memory corruption (use-after-free).
 
+const
+  SignalPoolSize {.intdefine.} = 1024
+  SignalPoolRetries {.intdefine.} = 1_000
+
+var
+  signalPoolLock: Lock
+  signalPoolFree: HashSet[ThreadSignalPtr]
+  signalPoolUsed: HashSet[ThreadSignalPtr]
+
+proc initSignalPool() =
+  signalPoolLock.initLock()
+  for i in 1..SignalPoolSize:
+    let signal = ThreadSignalPtr.new().get()
+    signalPoolFree.incl(signal)
+
+initSignalPool()
+
+proc getSignal*(): Future[ThreadSignalPtr] {.async, raises: [].} =
+  ## Get's a ThreadSignalPtr from the pool in a thread-safe way.
+  ## 
+  ## This provides a simple backpressue mechanism for the
+  ## number of requests in flight (not for the file operations themselves).
+  ## 
+  ## This setup provides two benefits:
+  ##  - backpressure on the number of disk IO requests
+  ##  - prevents leaks in ThreadSignalPtr's from exhausting the 
+  ##      processes IO descriptor limit, which results in bad
+  ##      and unpredictable failure modes.
+  ## 
+  ## This could be put onto its own thread and use it's own set ThreadSignalPtr, 
+  ## but the sleepAsync should prove if this is useful for not.
+  ## 
+  {.cast(gcsafe).}:
+    var cnt = SignalPoolRetries
+    while cnt > 0:
+      cnt.dec()
+      withLock(signalPoolLock):
+        if signalPoolFree.len() > 0:
+          try:
+            let res = signalPoolFree.pop()
+            signalPoolUsed.incl(res)
+            return res
+          except KeyError:
+            discard
+      await sleepAsync(10.milliseconds)
+    raise newException(DeadThreadDefect, "reached limit trying to acquire a ThreadSignalPtr")
+
+proc releaseSignal*(sig: ThreadSignalPtr) =
+  ## Release ThreadSignalPtr back to the pool in a thread-safe way.
+  withLock(signalPoolLock):
+    signalPoolUsed.excl(sig)
+    signalPoolFree.incl(sig)
+
 proc threadSafeType*[T: ThreadSafeTypes](tp: typedesc[T]) =
   ## Used to explicitly mark a type as threadsafe. It's checked
   ## at compile time in `newThreadResult`. 
@@ -55,7 +110,7 @@ proc newThreadResult*[T](
     {.error: "only thread safe types can be used".}
 
   let res = newSharedPtr(ThreadResult[T])
-  let signal = ThreadSignalPtr.new()
+
   if signal.isErr:
     return err((ref CatchableError)(msg: signal.error()))
   else: