wood toxicity?

[Squidders]

Howdy,

I've got some lovely wood for carving but it would be really handy to know if any of it is toxic or contains any nasties that would be bad for things like spoons or bowls...

The woods are:

Msaraka (Spirostachys africana)
Bubinga (Guibourtia demeusei)
Goncalo Alves (Astronium fraxinifolium)
Imbuya (Phoebe porosa)

I'm going to be quite demanding and ask for only factual answers or solid links as this will concern my health.

Any help would be appreciated!

Cheers

Joe

 

[leon-1]

Joe, I have just found this on one site for Msaraka.

The wood is used to manufacture good furniture and the poisonous latex is traditionally used to stupefy fish, making them easier to catch. The sawdust from the wood is harmful to the eyes and can even cause blindness. The wood is so strong that you can also make gun-stocks or arrows from it. It is not suitable as firewood because the smoke is toxic and will cause diarrhoea if meat roasted on the coals is eaten. The tree is classified as a precious timber in Mozambique.

The site is Here

I'll see what I can find for the others

 

[Squidders]

blimey! not sure it's really cutlery material then...

Axminster sell it as turning wood and they sell bowl blanks of it, I wonder if they make good but deadly bowls

Thanks Leon!

 

[leon-1]

I can't find anything bad about bubinga or Goncalo Alves (Zebra Wood), both of these I have worked with, I would suggest wearing a mask when sanding though as the dust gets everywhere including up your nose

 

[leon-1]

Imbuya, the only bad thing I know about it or can find (I have used it on knife handles) is this.

Sawdust from machining operations has been associated with skin irritation in some individuals.

You can find some good details about it here

 

[Bardster]

some good sites on toxicity here http://www.ubeaut.com.au/badwood.htm
and http://www.thewoodbox.com/data/wood/toxicityinfo.htm

goncalo alves is fine http://tropicalhardwoods.com/htm/tropical_hardwoods/goncalo_alves.htm
i have used it in woodturning bowls with no problems
bubinga is ok too but the dust is an irritant and when wet dyes everything red/orange
imbuya i have not used but is ok.

the thing to be aware of is its the dust that causes most of the problems - with the small quantity you will be using you should have no problems. and if you oil them then once the oil has set off the they are effectively sealed.
Woodturners use powersanding which created loads of fine dust and therefore have to be especially careful.

 

[leon-1]

Joe, you can pretty much work with all of these, but the normal advice runs with it and that is wear glasses or goggles and a face mask if you may be breathing or exposed to the fine saw dust. With Imbuya long sleeves and covered up or don't use power tools.

I tend to take that precaution as a lot of hardwoods have been known to be carcinogenic and I would rather be safe than sorry unless I am 100% sure

 

[Squidders]

Thanks Leon & Bardster!!!

The http://www.exotichardwoods-africa.com/ link is a keeper I think, really good resource.

Thanks again

I think i'm going to make a new machete handle and a pipe stand from the Msaraka... shame because the grain and colour of it are truely stunning!

 

[leon-1]

No problems mate

 

[squidge]

try to get a copy of the handbook of hardwoods (hmso) as it contains info on most of the commercially available timbers (i think it covers 250 or so).
i have seen copies second hand but you may have to search for it .

 

[Marts]

I've made a spoon out of imbuya and my sister hasn't got ill from it yet..

 

[Squidders]

Thanks again all for your advice!

Just as a side note, all the wood came from Axminster and some of it is lovely... it's under the wood turning section.

I also got some lime wood from there but it's useless, it splits with little or no provocation and is generally bad. I may have got a bad bit but it's nasty!