turning bowls

[Rod Smith]

I am getting into bowl turning and rolling pin turning. Are there certain woods that should not be used for items that will be used with food?

 

[robo hippy]

My preference for rolling pins is sugar (eastern hard) maple or beech. You can also use apple or cherry, but they aren't as hard as the maple and beech. Both are also closed grained woods.

For bowls, I prefer hard woods. Cherry, maple, apple, pear, Pacific Madrone, Myrtle, Ash, Walnut can be kind of iffy as it is strongly scented and some people can react to it. I stay away from oak as it doesn't sell well for me, and red and black oak can leak on you. Really though, fire wood or free wood is the best.

robo hippy

 

[MichaelMouse]

I am getting into bowl turning and rolling pin turning. Are there certain woods that should not be used for items that will be used with food?

Wet or dry? If it's for chips or peanuts, almost any wood will do, as long as it has a finish to wipe clean. Lacquer, urethane, pretty much anything that keeps the oils from the wood and the food apart is fine.

If you're going to eat wet food from it, might want to stick to those northern hardwoods which the Hippy mentioned, though I find cherry an ideal candidate as well. No big holes where stuff can hide, so ash,hickories, oaks and such are best sent to do the dry duties. I consider rolling pins as wet use, because of the oils from the dough.

If you're going to turn rolling pins, take advantage of your ability to do them to your own specification. Different requirements for pastry versus perogi.

 

[Barry Elder]

As a starting point, go to the AAW Home page, click RESOURCES, scroll down to the article on Toxicity of different woods, and you're on your way.