What wood, or characteristics would you consider NOT suitable for a salad bowl?

[Odie]

+ Spalted woods (some could be safe)

+ Exceptionally soft wood, like poplar.

+ Anything with voids, or bark inclusions.

+ Porous woods, like red oak (thx, AL)

+ Some toxic woods, like silver oak. (thx, Emiliano)


What would you add to that list?

-----odie-----

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Badly spalted yes, but I have made countless Koa salad bowls with some spalting lines on the lighter sap... Some woods like the silver oak here, an invasive species, with nice grain, is highly toxic to some people. A few months ago, a branch fell across a driveway. A worker there started cutting it and ended up in the hospital with an allergic reaction, breathing problems... I wonder if known allergic woods should be avoided for salad bowls?

 

[hockenbery]

Spalted wood is fine unless it is eliminated for being too soft.

Pourous woods like red oak. Unfiiled pores let oil and vinegar run out of the bowl.

Realy hard woods are more susceptible to cracking if dropped - a soft maple is more like get a small dent and bounce while a pecan bowl Is more like to get a crack or break the tile it lands on.

 

[john lucas]

Al listed my list. I prefer smooth woods with no pores. Soft woods dent pretty easily. I make my salad bowls thicker because my customers seem to like that. I use a lot of Cherry and maple for salad bowls.

 

[Odie]

Badly spalted yes, but I have made countless Koa salad bowls with some spalting lines on the lighter sap

Spalted wood is fine unless it is eliminated for being too soft.

Thank you Emiliano and Al for these comments. I think you are technically correct that there is a degree of spalting that would be safe for salad bowl use.....however, for my own purposes, I believe I'll continue to rule out using spalted woods for food use. To me, the thought is to err on the safe side being the more prudent philosophy.....especially since I have paying customers who could make life difficult for me, if they understand that spalting is a decaying process.

I will be updating the original post to include your comments about toxic woods, and extremely porous woods shortly......thanks.

John......Yes......thick walls is the way I turn my salad bowls, too. Seems like the only option, when extreme durability is the object.

I have a walnut salad bowl in process right now......but, I do have some reservations about it. If I'm recalling this correctly, I believe I've heard someone, somewhere, comment that walnut transfers a "noticeable taste".......but, I don't know if I'm recalling that correctly. Anyone have a comment about that?

-----odie-----

 

[Arkriver]

In my view poplar and aspen (soft woods) make nice salad bowls. Sure they will get dinged with use but that just builds character

 

[Mark Hepburn]

Odie,

If it's on fire, i'd rule it out. Also, splinters. No splinters either.

Seriously though, I'd probably rule out woods that might have allergens that can be harmful, and one of the routes of entry is skin contact so not just inhaled dust but skin contact. Can't think of any off hand but some of the exotics probably meet that criterion. I think Osage Orange sap can cause rashes (but not if dried). And the splinters comment was only a half joke. You may not want to use something that will shed, like palm or such. But that probably falls outside the scope of your questions so maybe that's a point not worth mentioning?

And for sure I would be very careful with salvaged materials of any kind. If you can't precisely know its prior use, you don't know what may be in it.

 

[Odie]

Odie,

If it's on fire, i'd rule it out. Also, splinters. No splinters either.

Seriously though, I'd probably rule out woods that might have allergens that can be harmful, and one of the routes of entry is skin contact so not just inhaled dust but skin contact. Can't think of any off hand but some of the exotics probably meet that criterion. I think Osage Orange sap can cause rashes (but not if dried). And the splinters comment was only a half joke. You may not want to use something that will shed, like palm or such. But that probably falls outside the scope of your questions so maybe that's a point not worth mentioning?

And for sure I would be very careful with salvaged materials of any kind. If you can't precisely know its prior use, you don't know what may be in it.

Right, Mark.....

I've also heard that some people (and turners during the act of turning) have trouble with rosewoods. I've never used a rosewood for food use, but still, it would be worthy of consideration here in this thread.....

-----odie-----

 

[John Turpin]

I looked at the wood database and found out that virtually every species can cause a reaction to some people. I was amazed by this. Here's their list:

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

 

[John Torchick]

If I turned bowls (one of these days I will), I would use them for ice cream. The bigger, the better.
OK, seriously, John, the link is really eyeopening. Many people have allergies of one type or another. Examples- the daycare where my wife worked banned anything with peanuts as so many kids had allergic reactions to peanuts and related products. One little girl can't even go into a restaurant that has peanuts in the buckets where you throw the shells on the floor. The staff was trained to recognize and deal with allergic reactions. Several kids over the years had an Epi-Pen in the office for emergencies. I am allergic to bee stings so there is always an Epi-Pen handy. An allergist told me that just about everyone has some type of allergy, however, some so mild as not to cause problems.
Thanks for the replies as it gives us something to think about.
I was allergic to work. When SWMBO told me to retire, I did!

 

[Mark Hepburn]

My son is allergic to soy protein so he carries an Epi-Pen and it is a monumental task to simply eat a meal out. And I've been on a Southwest flight that didn't give out peanuts because a single passenger had an allergy. But I hadn't really considered the wide range of woods that might be at issue until I looked at that link. That's some list...

I'm going to go drown my concerns in some ice cream. But not soy ice cream.

 

[hockenbery]

Wood allergies sometimes appear after repeated exposure.
I know several turners to cocobolo, one black walnut, one mulberry.

In each case they had turned quite a few pieces before the alergy became noticeable.

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

I had a brief conversation with Dr Sarah Robertson on this topic last month. Seri is also known as Dr. Spalting. She mentioned purpleheart and most of the tropical hardwoods. Juniper is a big one, and walnut is somewhere in the middle. She considered spalting to have halted completely once dry, and be safe for food use.

More than anything, Seri said what gives her horrors is seeing wood teething toys made of any of the woods known to be even remotely toxic, such as walnut. Babies just can't handle organic toxins like grown ups.

For bowls, finishes can reduce sensitivities to the wood, so that's part of the equation too.

A partial rule of thumb might be how rot resistant a wood is, though I don't think this is always true.

 

[John Torchick]

Zach., good info to know.
Mark, SWMBO tried low fat ice cream.........once. Had the taste and consistency of wallpaper paste.
Speaking of allergies, I have friend who is allergic to cheese but not other dairy products. When we go on a fishing trip, Italian and Mexican is out.

 

[Mark Hepburn]

Zach., good info to know.
Mark, SWMBO tried low fat ice cream.........once. Had the taste and consistency of wallpaper paste.
Speaking of allergies, I have friend who is allergic to cheese but not other dairy products. When we go on a fishing trip, Italian and Mexican is out.

John,

low fat ice cream... isn’t that an oxymoron?

 

[Bill Boehme]

.......l Seriously though, I'd probably rule out woods that might have allergens that can be harmful, and one of the routes of entry is skin contact so not just inhaled dust but skin contact. Can't think of any off hand but some of the exotics probably meet that criterion.......

You might be thinking of species that contain the toxin urushiol. Poison ivy is the obvious one, but Here some that are rarely turned: mango, Rengas tree, Burmese lacquer tree, India marking nut tree, cashew shell, ginkgo biloba, poison sumac, and poison oak.

 

[Bill Boehme]

John,

low fat ice cream... isn’t that an oxymoron?

OK, this is too far OT ... I'm taking drastic measures and going for Cherry Garcia.

 

[Mark Hepburn]

You might be thinking of species that contain the toxin urushiol. Poison ivy is the obvious one, but Here some that are rarely turned: mango, Rengas tree, Burmese lacquer tree, India marking nut tree, cashew shell, ginkgo biloba, poison sumac, and poison oak.

Rules to live by:
Always try to get ten hours sleep
Never play poker with a guy named after a city
Don’t turn woods with the word “poison” in their name

Just sayin...

 

[Mark Hepburn]

OK, this is too far OT ... I'm taking drastic measures and going for Cherry Garcia.

Very well thought out. And calm under pressure too.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

You might be thinking of species that contain the toxin urushiol. Poison ivy is the obvious one, but Here some that are rarely turned: mango, Rengas tree, Burmese lacquer tree, India marking nut tree, cashew shell, ginkgo biloba, poison sumac, and poison oak.

I wasn’t aware that Mango is rarely turn on the mainland. Here is very common. Have not heard anyone been allergic to it... I have turned a lot of it... Last mango tree I have most of it away, kept a few crotches, donated lots to the club raffle...

 

[Odie]

Never play poker with a guy named after a city

OK.......made me LOL!

-----odie-----

 

[Bill Boehme]

I wasn’t aware that Mango is rarely turn on the mainland. Here is very common. Have not heard anyone been allergic to it... I have turned a lot of it... Last mango tree I have most of it away, kept a few crotches, donated lots to the club raffle...

I'm just reporting what I read on the Internet ... so it must be true.

I used to not be bothered by poison ivy, but now I am. My wife can break out with a rash just from hearing the words,

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Thank you Emiliano and Al for these comments. I think you are technically correct that there is a degree of spalting that would be safe for salad bowl use.....however, for my own purposes, I believe I'll continue to rule out using spalted woods for food use. To me, the thought is to err on the safe side being the more prudent philosophy.....especially since I have paying customers who could make life difficult for me, if they understand that spalting is a decaying process.

I will be updating the original post to include your comments about toxic woods, and extremely porous woods shortly......thanks.

John......Yes......thick walls is the way I turn my salad bowls, too. Seems like the only option, when extreme durability is the object.

I have a walnut salad bowl in process right now......but, I do have some reservations about it. If I'm recalling this correctly, I believe I've heard someone, somewhere, comment that walnut transfers a "noticeable taste".......but, I don't know if I'm recalling that correctly. Anyone have a comment about that?

-----odie-----

The problem with spalting is explaining it to a potential buyer. What is that ice black line? Spalting... What is spalting? The beginning of rot... lol

 

[robo hippy]

Any wood that has a strong smell to it. Walnut is one for me, and I don't work it any more because I started to get itchy and sniffley after turning it. If it is totally dried out, then the smell isn't bad, but I would never serve any hot moist food in it as that will stimulate the smell. If the wood has any toxic properties at all, the heat and moisture will draw it out where dry foods 'may' not.

As for the spalting, the fungi that cause spalting are designed to eat one thing, wood fiber. They do not bother people at all. However, Seri (the only one who calls me Sara is my mom) said that there are lots of nasties on the forest floors.....

robo hippy

 

[Owen Lowe]

Anything that stinks when you cut, trim, and turn it! On continued thought, anything with a strong scent. The elm I’ve turned stinks like a cow barn and camphor clears the sinuses. These smells will almost certainly be absorbed somewhat by the food. (I have an elm cooking utensil that has been used long enough that the stink has gone but it was really unpleasant for quite a while.)

Cascara is another wood I’d steer clear of for food — unless you enjoy timing your dinner guests sprinting to the loo! Seriously, I don’t know if it’s the wood or merely the bark that has the laxative properties.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Anything that stinks when you cut, trim, and turn it! On continued thought, anything with a strong scent. The elm I’ve turned stinks like a cow barn and camphor clears the sinuses. These smells will almost certainly be absorbed somewhat by the food. (I have an elm cooking utensil that has been used long enough that the stink has gone but it was really unpleasant for quite a while.)

Cascara is another wood I’d steer clear of for food — unless you enjoy timing your dinner guests sprinting to the loo! Seriously, I don’t know if it’s the wood or merely the bark that has the laxative properties.

Here is what does the herb treatment and by the way it would take overnight to work.https://livertox.nih.gov/Cascara.htm

 

[Perry Hilbert]

Many years ago, I knew a guy that made stock blanks for long rifles. despite the filter mask, He got into a load of black walnut and the dust almost killed him. He still had problems breathing two years later. He never worked with walnut again. He made stuff out of all manner of strange woods, but never went back to walnut. He even made some small items from poison ivy wood that he milled from some very large vines. He built a working flint lock long rifle in miniature that was only 5 inches long. It actually fired.