Woods for carving

[bushscout1]

Apologies if this has been covered before, I've looked but couldn't find an answer.

Is there a list of which woods are suitable for carving what sorts of objects?

I know that some woods contain toxins and hence would be unsuitable for carving spoons / cups etc. but I'm not aware of a list of good / bad woods to use / avoid.

I tend to use birch as I believe its ok for such items, but I'm interested in using other woods, eg ash, sycamore, oak, elder.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[jojo]

Here is a list of "toxic woods"

But this particularly relates to the effect of wood dust, either by skin contact or inhalation, and it tends to be so called exotic woods which are more likely to cause problems. Which does not mean local woods such as Yew won't cause you problems of course. All trees have the potential to cause harm, using chemicals is their way to defend themselves against damage.

I think with the small quantity we tend to use it's not too likely. I am reasonably sure the woods you mentioned are food safe, but I am not a expert on that subject.

I have had bad reaction to wood twice: once was Iroko dust, chest and nasal infections that were hard to shift and the second time, skin reaction with Cocobolo dust, my face,neck, hands and arms turned red and blotchy and very irritating. My fault on this one, I should have been covered up more, and luckily, I was wearing a dust mask.