Walnut and food

Helmut

It is not a good idea to leave Walnut unfinished - for a few reasons

1. If it comes in contact with acids, the wood will turn black
2. The tanins in Walnut are pretty strong and can be smelled for months after the piece is dry.
3. It will absorb liquids pretty easily as the pores are rather large.

I found that Waterlox is a finish that really makes the beauty of Walnut jump out of the surface.

Ray Sandusky Brentwood, TN

Smell and taste are both chemical senses. If you can smell a wood, you'll taste it if you leave moist food in it. The extractives in walnut that color the heartwood so well can leach out.

Helmut, You could use oil as a finish. Either mineral oil which doesn't cure and would have to periodically be re-applied or pure tung or walnut oil. These two oils do cure, but very, very slowly, like several weeks. I put several drops of oil onto a paper towel and apply it to the piece as it is spinning and rub it in well. I don't flood the piece since the more oil the longer it will take to cure. Due to the large pores on walnut it is easy to apply what I consider an excess amount of oil. On walnut ( and other woods with large pores) I prefer using tung oil, over walnut oil, I don't use mineral oil. Hope this helps. Vielen Glück Martin Long Island NY

I've made cooking spatulas and stirrers from American Black Walnut with no problems that I can tell. They don't impart any odor or taste to the food - even when tasting directly off the wood. (Unlike some American Elm stirrers I made a couple years ago - bleeech.)

I have even been known to stick them in the dishwasher on occassion though I usually hand wash them. Every now and then I'll wipe them down with some sort of cooking oil: olive, canola or walnut - whatever strikes me at the moment. They still look really good and have held up very well.

I have made salad bowls, salad tools, even a cookie plate from walnut. I have always finished with mineral oil although, based on earlier postings in this group, I may try walnut oil in the future. There have been no aroma or taste proiblems and I continue to consider walnut as my favorite wood not only for the stuff I mentioned but also for furniture, of which I have made quite a bit.

Bob Moody

Ray,

What is Waterlox? Tung oil based?

Max

Pretty high solids varnish. It's tung-based according to its manufacturers, though even if it says so, smells and looks like, we here know it's not necessarily true....

"Maxprop" wrote in news:abFKd.1650$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net:

Waterlox Original is a very nice finish, which applies a lot like a Watco Danish oil, but has, with several coats, protective properties which approach a poly. Rubbed out, with grey pad and wax, the finish is not too shiney.

Currently my wipe-on finish of choice.

Patriarch, moderately experienced hobbyist furniture builder, rank beginner at the lathe...

It's one I haven't tried so far. I think I've used just about everything else, from French polish to pure tung oil to lacquer to varnish to whatever.

It's worth a try.

Max Mishawaka, IN

"Maxprop" wrote in news:mKhLd.4917$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:

The web site has a dealer locator. It isn't carried everywhere. Woodcraft carries it in my area.

I find it really difficult to screw up. That's a real positive for me. I am not a patient man by nature. ;-)

Patriarch