Hello,

i just received a couple of walnut wood.

I wanted to turn some bowls and leave them untreated or with the smallest
possible amount of finishing.

Can i use raw walnut in contact with food? or is there some acid or similar
stuff in the wood , wich will color or spoil the food, which came in close
contact with the wood ?

Your opinion please ?

Regards

Helmut

Helmut

It is not a good idea to leave Walnut unfinished - for a few reasons

1. If it comes in contact with acids, the wood will turn black
2. The tanins in Walnut are pretty strong and can be smelled for months
after the piece is dry.
3. It will absorb liquids pretty easily as the pores are rather large.

I found that Waterlox is a finish that really makes the beauty of Walnut
jump out of the surface.

Ray Sandusky
Brentwood, TN


"Helmut Kern" wrote in message
...
Hello,

i just received a couple of walnut wood.

I wanted to turn some bowls and leave them untreated or with the smallest
possible amount of finishing.

Can i use raw walnut in contact with food? or is there some acid or
similar stuff in the wood , wich will color or spoil the food, which came
in close contact with the wood ?

Your opinion please ?

Regards

Helmut

"Helmut Kern" wrote in message
...
Hello,

i just received a couple of walnut wood.

I wanted to turn some bowls and leave them untreated or with the smallest
possible amount of finishing.

Can i use raw walnut in contact with food? or is there some acid or
similar
stuff in the wood , wich will color or spoil the food, which came in
close
contact with the wood ?

Your opinion please ?

Smell and taste are both chemical senses. If you can smell a wood, you'll
taste it if you leave moist food in it. The extractives in walnut that
color the heartwood so well can leach out.

Helmut,
You could use oil as a finish. Either mineral oil which doesn't cure
and would have to periodically be re-applied or pure tung or walnut oil.
These two oils do cure, but very, very slowly, like several weeks. I put
several drops of oil onto a paper towel and apply it to the piece as it is
spinning and rub it in well. I don't flood the piece since the more oil the
longer it will take to cure. Due to the large pores on walnut it is easy to
apply what I consider an excess amount of oil. On walnut ( and other woods
with large pores) I prefer using tung oil, over walnut oil, I don't use
mineral oil.
Hope this helps.
Vielen Glück
Martin
Long Island NY

"Helmut Kern" wrote in message
...
Hello,

i just received a couple of walnut wood.

I wanted to turn some bowls and leave them untreated or with the smallest
possible amount of finishing.

Can i use raw walnut in contact with food? or is there some acid or
similar
stuff in the wood , wich will color or spoil the food, which came in
close
contact with the wood ?

Your opinion please ?

Regards

Helmut

In article ,
"Helmut Kern" wrote:

Can i use raw walnut in contact with food? or is there some acid or similar
stuff in the wood , wich will color or spoil the food, which came in close
contact with the wood ?

I've made cooking spatulas and stirrers from American Black Walnut with
no problems that I can tell. They don't impart any odor or taste to the
food - even when tasting directly off the wood. (Unlike some American
Elm stirrers I made a couple years ago - bleeech.)

I have even been known to stick them in the dishwasher on occassion
though I usually hand wash them. Every now and then I'll wipe them down
with some sort of cooking oil: olive, canola or walnut - whatever
strikes me at the moment. They still look really good and have held up
very well.

--
"Sure we'll have fascism in America, but it'll come disguised
as 100% Americanism." -- Huey P. Long

I have made salad bowls, salad tools, even a cookie plate from walnut. I
have always finished with mineral oil although, based on earlier postings in
this group, I may try walnut oil in the future. There have been no aroma or
taste proiblems and I continue to consider walnut as my favorite wood not
only for the stuff I mentioned but also for furniture, of which I have made
quite a bit.

Bob Moody

"Ray Sandusky" wrote in message

I found that Waterlox is a finish that really makes the beauty of Walnut
jump out of the surface.

Ray,

What is Waterlox? Tung oil based?

Max

"Maxprop" wrote in message
k.net...

"Ray Sandusky" wrote in message

I found that Waterlox is a finish that really makes the beauty of
Walnut
jump out of the surface.

Ray,

What is Waterlox? Tung oil based?


Pretty high solids varnish. It's tung-based according to its manufacturers,
though even if it says so, smells and looks like, we here know it's not
necessarily true....

"Maxprop" wrote in
k.net:

What is Waterlox? Tung oil based?

http://www.waterlox.com/

Waterlox Original is a very nice finish, which applies a lot like a Watco
Danish oil, but has, with several coats, protective properties which
approach a poly. Rubbed out, with grey pad and wax, the finish is not too
shiney.

Currently my wipe-on finish of choice.

Patriarch,
moderately experienced hobbyist furniture builder, rank beginner at the
lathe...

"Patriarch" wrote in message

Waterlox Original is a very nice finish, which applies a lot like a Watco
Danish oil, but has, with several coats, protective properties which
approach a poly. Rubbed out, with grey pad and wax, the finish is not too
shiney.

Currently my wipe-on finish of choice.

It's one I haven't tried so far. I think I've used just about everything
else, from French polish to pure tung oil to lacquer to varnish to whatever.

It's worth a try.

Max
Mishawaka, IN

"Maxprop" wrote in
nk.net:


"Patriarch" wrote in message

Waterlox Original is a very nice finish, which applies a lot like a
Watco Danish oil, but has, with several coats, protective properties
which approach a poly. Rubbed out, with grey pad and wax, the finish
is not too shiney.

Currently my wipe-on finish of choice.

It's one I haven't tried so far. I think I've used just about
everything else, from French polish to pure tung oil to lacquer to
varnish to whatever.

It's worth a try.


The web site has a dealer locator. It isn't carried everywhere. Woodcraft
carries it in my area.

I find it really difficult to screw up. That's a real positive for me. I
am not a patient man by nature. ;-)

Patriarch