Species of wood with very nice grain / colouring?

[CHJ]

Personally I would not use Yew for a drinking vessel, I'm with Paul on the reservations front.
A tree with the capability of killing a horse with just a handful of foliage has got to be suspect where direct contact with food or drink is concerned.

Not so sure - the leaves of the potato and tomato plants are poisonous, but (happily) some parts are not.

BugBear

http://poolhousevets.com/Equine/yew-tree-poisoning/

The only part of a Yew that is not poisonous is the red flesh surrounding the seed, the seed itself is very poisonous, birds get away with eating them because they void the seeds before they start to digest.

Children should be discouraged from sitting under them for shade for long periods in very hot weather because of the risk of hallucinogenic/hyper activity effects.

This link Taken from the safety sticky at the top of the Turning forum has it down in RED as a wood to be careful with.

 

[Dino]

Any suggestions on a wood that isn't going to lead to dead people, with a nice grain?

 

[marcros]

wild cherry, walnut, rippled sycamore- all as suggested above!

 

[bugbear]

Andy Coates appears to be the person who's put the most effort into finding an evidenced answer to this question.

http://woodturningblog.wordpress.com/20 ... ood-toxic/

No-one would tell him!

The "dust is definitely nasty", and "don't eat the leaves" are the main take homes, as our American friends would put it.

I can also find people in America (a very litigious country) selling cheese boards made of yew.

BugBear

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Sycamore was suggested earlier on. It's a wood traditionally used where food safety is required - butcher's blocks, dairy shelving and the like. It's quite close-grained, so will take detail nicely, and whilst hard enough to hold that detail, it's not ridiculously hard to the point of being impossible to work. It's also relatively cheap, and available as turning blanks in quite large sizes - 3" square by 12" long should give plenty of material. One source is Stiles and Bates, but almost any mail order turning supplier will have some.

 

[Dino]

I think I'll go for ripped sycamore, or wild cherry. Would American Black Walnut still be safe? As I have quite a bit of that.

I need to find a place that will sell this stuff to me now...lack of local vendors is making this a bit difficult.

I'll check out Stile and Bates, any ideas for any other mail order suppliers? I used to get all my wood from a specific yard which has since moved location making it too much of a trek.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

If I remember correctly, American Black Walnut splinters have something of a bad reputation for turning septic, so maybe best avoided for this application just to be on the safe side. European Walnut (which is a different sub-species) is OK, but much harder to find and costlier. Turning blanks might be a good source for small quantities by mail order, though - I had some rather nice European Walnut from Stiles and Bates a couple of years ago.

 

[marcros]

which way does the grain need to go in your 3x2x2 piece?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I think I'll go for ripped sycamore, or wild cherry. Would American Black Walnut still be safe? As I have quite a bit of that.

I need to find a place that will sell this stuff to me now...lack of local vendors is making this a bit difficult.

I'll check out Stile and Bates, any ideas for any other mail order suppliers? I used to get all my wood from a specific yard which has since moved location making it too much of a trek.

Home of Wood might be worth a look - a few people here have had nice stuff from them recently.

 

[Dino]

which way does the grain need to go in your 3x2x2 piece?

No specific direction desired, but I suppose carving with the grain would make more sense (I might cheat and actually just throw the thing on my lathe and just shape the bowl like that).

 

[marcros]

i will have a look at what i have if i get into the workshop this evening. I had some thick walnut, but i cant remember if i took a couple of boards off it. There may be a lump of cherry too, or it may be elm. One was 2" one was 1" thick.

 

[Dino]

That would be fantastic, just let me know the price. I'll bring the boards I need thicknessing with me if you find something usable.

Did I ever ask you about which local suppliers you use?

 

[marcros]

you did, i cant remebre if it was on an email or a PM, but we did have a chat.

I am in the USA next week, but we can thickness your boards when I am back. I will try and find you something tonight, because I can always leave it somewhere for you.

 

[Dino]

No rush. I'm busy this week and next week, but work is finally settling down.

Hope you have a great trip!