• The forum upgrades have been completed. These were moderate security fixes from our software vendor and it looks like everything is working well. If you see any problems please post in the Forum Technical Support forum or email us at forum_moderator (at) aawforum.org. Thank you
  • Congratulations to Bernie Hyrtzak, People's Choice in the January 2026 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Matt Carvalho for "Red Mallee Folded Form" being selected as Turning of the Week for February 9, 2026 (click here for details)
  • AAW Symposium demonstrators announced - If the 2026 AAW International Woodturning Symposium is not on your calendar, now is the time to register. And there are discounts available if you sign up early, by Feb. 28. Early Bird pricing gives you the best rate for our 40th Anniversary Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina, June 4–7, 2026. (There are discounts for AAW chapter members too) For more information vist the discussion thread here or the AAW registration page
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Tung Oil Tree

Paul M. Kaplowitz

Paul M. Kaplowitz

Joined
Oct 6, 2008
Messages
402
Likes
270
Location
North Charleston, SC
Here in historic Charleston,SC , we have many trees from all over the world. I have had Chinaberry, Chinese Tallow, Ailanthus, Ginko, Mimosa and now Tung Oil Tree. Here's my question. My research shows that the nuts are highly toxic. When the Tung Oil is extracted, however, it is no longer toxic. Is the wood toxic? Can it be used for food safe bowls? My extension service has no idea. Anyone know?
 
From what I understand, all woods can be considered toxic depending upon an individual’s sensitivity to the compounds specific to that wood. Here are a few links explaining and listing the more common reactions to mainstream woods:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis30.pdf

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/

http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/roche/rec.wood.misc/wood.toxic (note the source on this one — American Woodturner, June ’90)

If this doesn’t do it for you, do a Google on “toxic woods”.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top