Just made a cutting board of walnut scraps and I seem to remember that walnut is not recommended for animal bedding or garden mulch. Seems that some of the chemicals in the wood are toxic. Would that apply to a kitchen cutting board?
Many thanks,
Dave
Replies
No, it not good for this application. Stick with maple.
I've noticed a bitter taste in my mouth when sanding walnut - and I suspect this would be picked up by food on a cutting board.
Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before
If you can taste that walnut dust, you need a much better mask. Sinus cancer among woodworkers is comparatively high, esp high in the sinus cavities - near your brain - where the smaller micron particles lodge.
Unless you intend to sand a hunk of the board off and add it into your salad or let a baby chew on the corner of it, a walnut cutting board should be the least of your worries. Yes, it will slow plant growth if applied as a dusty mulch; this is not the use to which you are putting it, however. Google "walnut cutting boards" and you'll find lots of sources.
Be more careful with what you oil it with, if you oil it at all. I used to recommend peanut oil, among others, on my boards (i've made several thousand of them for resale) until a woman i knew died from ingesting a very small amount by accident.
I have not oiled it with anything. I just sanded it to 150 and called it quits.
Oil isn't needed to preserve the wood, but it just pops the grain nicely. Sanding it to 150 grit says you like the board smooth, but any water will raise the grain again. If you want it slick, you can raise the grain with water, sand it with wet/dry paper, raise the grain again, sand again...it stops fuzzing up eventually. I certainly didn't do this, but it's an idea if you want your board that smooth. I learned the trick from a guy who makes bows for hunting game and doesn't use a film finish or even oil to 'finish' them.
Edited 3/15/2006 6:48 pm ET by splintergroupie
Mineral Oil, or a Mineral oil/paraffin mix is the only really safe thing to seal them with.
Any vegtable oild (including peanut) has a risk of rancidity or allergic reactions.
I am a purist on the wood and only do Maple boards. the fanciest I get is tro use quilted mable for the outside strips.
1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Edited 3/16/2006 4:12 pm ET by Ricks503
Edited 3/16/2006 4:13 pm ET by Ricks503
I believe Giada DeLaurentis has a walnut cutting board she uses on her show on Food Network. So I presume it would be safe.
Bob
Anything, ANYthing she does is OK with me!
You ain't kidding. :)My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
I've been using a walnut salad bowl I turned 2 years go with no visible problems - except I don't spell as well as I should,
Jerry
From what I have read/heard, food grade mineral oil is the preferred material for cutting boards. Food based oils can go rancid and mineral oil won't. Also, the oil is used to protect the wood and to keep food and bacteria from going too far into the pores and again, going bad. Oiled boards are a lot easier to clean and don't develop the bad odors like a non-oiled board can. Wood rots from a repeated cycle of wet/dry, not usually from getting wet one time. I'm sure there's a small % of walnut sensitive people out there, but with all of the bowls turned in high school woodshop classes over the decades, we would probably have heard about any issues by now.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
made a cutting board 25 years ago from walnut and maple. Is that why I can't spell so good. Knew there had to be a reason
I made a cutting board form my mom when I was in high school that had walnut, cherry, oak, and a few other scraps (shop class). I never noticed any issues and that was 26 years ago. Just wipe it down with mineral oil. I do not use it for meat though, just the veggies.
Hi Dave
I just read an article recently in a wood working magazine about how toxic Walnut is I'll have to look for it when I get home and post again. The dust for one ,don't let your pets chew on the cut offs,my one Springer (not Jerry) she goes right for the Walnut scrapes I had to put them up high.
Rick
Ill add that walnut is an open-grained wood. Not ideal for food since small particles can deposit in the open grain structure. Also black walnut is semi-ring porous which can allow more particles suspended in water to travel into the wood. Not something id care to see in a cutting board that goes from chicken to vegetables.
woods that are diffuse porous are probably your best bet for cutting boards that will see use rather then decoration
A google on <<bacteria wood cutting boards>> should allay fears on bacteria, porosity, etc. and The Reason Why. Here's a link to get you started: http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infcuttingboard.shtmEdited to say: Note what the article says about the varieties of wood tested and the variety of bacteria, including Campobylacter, Listeria, etc. that are mentioned. I don't subscribe to his method of cleaning with bleach however, as bleach is a toxin itself and not necessary in this case.
Edited 3/16/2006 9:38 pm ET by splintergroupie
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