posted 10 months ago
The arguments among seasoned woodworkers regarding finish toxicity are endless. That said, the general consensus is, once a finish hardens, it's safe.
As to woods considered toxic, many things can alter that. For example, I am a fanatic about using deep penetrating products to protect wood before I apply finish (final coat(s). This would go far in sealing any wood. Especially if considered mildly toxic.
I have a bazzillion, give or take five, wood kitchen items. They are made from walnut, maple, apple, cherry and sycamore.
I use a lot of cherry and apple. Both because they are beautiful and because they are abundant (there are thousands of acres around me and someone is always pulling a 100 acres of something to plant the latest, greatest apple). Fruitwoods are tough to use, because they love to crack, even if dried slowly. And I don't care to dry them slowly, since I can have truckloads any time I want. As such, I just cut up what I get into blocks, then, when dried, cut 3/8" to 1/2" slabs for spoons, spurtles and so on. Other good pieces become scoops.
The maple spurtles/spatulas I have are by way of a criminal act (a societal one, versus a statutory one). I bought a cord of maple. Nearly every last piece the guy delivered was beautiful, highly figured maple. He had no clue, as to what he had, or what he could have sold it for, before he butchered it. I didn't bother telling him because he tried to short cord me.
The photos below are of:
(1) A cheese cutter, after I replaced the broken, crappy plastic handle with some sycamore.
(2) A cabbage tamper from local cherry orchard. The black bottom is a piece of composite, like what you'd use on the counter tops you'd see in a science lab. The cherry does have a small crack at the top, but that can be filled with epoxy with, for example, some graphite mixed in to thicken it. After which it would be sanded and finished.
(3) A couple of the many scoops I've made from cherry limbs. I stand them on end, cut progressively smaller circles that get cut in half. . . .
In the end, there isn't much in the way of wood that can't be used for one thing or two others.
Cheese-Cutter-Handle-1.jpg
Food-Tampers.jpg
Scoop-1.jpg
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