Toxic wood?

Phil queried: "What domestic woods should be avoided for food usage? Also, how does spalted, ambosia, decay spots and worm holes affect food usage?"

********************************* I will try to clarify as much as possible regarding the above. First, how were you planning on preparing these woods for food usage? Chopped? Diced? Boiled? ......kidding : )

Yes, I know, you meant what woods are save for putting food in; almost any domestic hardwood is safe.

Yes, I know black walnut has a toxic nature, but if you don't eat the bowl, and if you put a heavy coating of, even saturate by soaking in walnut oil, mineral oil, safflower oil or beeswax, you are safe. If you are going to use a fork pierced into the wood to hold something you're cutting with a steak knife and cutting into the wood, NOW you have a problem! In fact, don't even use wood in this case.

The spalted and wormy woods are not going to be very eye appealing to anyone who wants to put food in them. You can cover them with polyurethane and they will be fine, but they still won't look appetizing or desirable for food.

If you're planning on making for friends and family, ask them or show them one before using the wood and your time. I've found (for selling) most people do not like salad-type bowls out of rotting wood; aka spalted, wormy. In fact, one shoppe won't take bowls from real dark woods (or spalted) because people have a thing about putting food in maple, cherry, pine; light colored woods. Don't know why, just a quirk of humans.

I'm sure others here will give you a more thorough and scientific response; this is all I know. : )

Ruth

Woodturners Logo My shop and Turnings at

I know that Black Walnut is toxic.

Can someone tell me whether Bubinga is toxic.

Ted

ambosia, decay spots

Black walnut is no more toxic than its friend, black cherry. Unless you're a weed trying to grow under a juglone-producing tree.

1) At any time, any one can develop an allergy to any wood. Therefore, none are "safe" in our litigious society.

2) Certain woods have distinctive flavors or odors which result from their chemical efforts to kill insects and/or bacteria. Most of these are tannates, and they taste bad. In quantity, they may even be toxic, though it would take a fool or an adapted caterpillar to eat enough. Most animals won't eat things that taste bad - the tree counts on it.

3) Some woods are poisonous because of the sap they contain, or the sap residue. They include, but are not limited, because of (1) to those listed on: any number of easily searched sites. Spalted wood contains toxins, because the fungus has been fighting the bacteria for the nutrition - think antibiotics.

Wormy wood won't hold soup.

spalted, ambosia, decay spots

I can think of two oleander and carolina jasmin that could deal a death blow to a user of the wood

Ruth wrote:

I've not found this to be true in this area. I deal in spalted woods a great deal and make lots of kitchenware (turned and otherwise) with it. As long as the wood is solid and have no worm holes (major turnoff!), the spalted items are the first to sell. I've made, literally, hundreds of spalted maple and sycamore salad hands this year for example. I'm sick of salad hands!

Light colored kitchenware sells the most here too. The darker items do better when they have some light areas (reds, greys, blues) throughout. Dark dark walnut (bowls for example) without any other figure or contrast don't do as well here either. They do sell but not nearly as much.

- Andrew

Not to humans UNLESS you have an allergic reaction to it.

Not to me yet! I've had a sald fork made from it for several years and often just eat directly from it (SHHHhhhhhhhh ).

- Andrew

There's a thought... Not specifically mentioned on that site you pointed out.

I have in mind to turn a bit of Norway maple. It's a naturalized species here in America, and so not really a "domestic" hardwood at all.

One of the identifying characteristics is the white, milky sap. As a general rule, plants that have white, milky sap are poisonous. I wonder if that might apply to this wood?

Perhaps that's why the Monarch butterfly deposits its eggs in the weed. The Monarch doesn't taste good, indeed may be poisonous (to the birds which eat such things, I've never tried them myself), and that's why the Viceroy tries to protect itself by imitating the Monarch...

I suspect it does indeed depend on what part of the plant is contacted or ingested. People regularly eat tomatoes, peppers (fruits) and potatoes (roots), and chew or smoke tobacco (leaves), but these plants are all members of the nightshade family, which includes jimpson weed and so on. Different parts are edible to different species here.

Regards Dave Kassover Troy, NY

I kind of doubt it about maple too, but I was just wondering.

Figs are another one in the "milky sap is poisonous" category, I think. Though there again I think natural rubber comes from milky sap from a kind of fig tree, so I guess all things in moderation... :)