What wood to use for hand carved Morater and pestle?

[lunagardens]

We have a walnut tree my husband took down a few weeks back. I would like to try my hand at carving a mortar and pestle. Would the walnut be food/human safe to use? What woods would be food safe for making it from?
Any tips on how to hand carve one and should I put some kind of finish on it? what kind?
Thank you for help in my quest.
~Tammie

[Forerunner]

Walnut is food safe.

Hard maple would give better results for that application, as it is much more dense and less porous.
As for the finish, boiled linseed oil liberally applied and allowed to dry/soak in would be as simple as any.

[lunagardens]

Thank you Forerunner. My first will no be too pretty, so I wanted to try it on what we had, if it was o.k to use. I will aim for the hard maple on the next one.
If it turns out nice, I thought I would make a few up for friends to go with the dried herbs I will give them.
Thanks again!

[stranger]

hard maple, the same wood that cutting boards and butcher blocks used to be made from.
the grain is tight so food and oils can't penetrate it like it does oak, ash, ect.

[netexan]

Sweet gum wood was used by the native americans here in Texas and is still used today to a lesser extent. I've not tried it yet but I hear that it imparts a slightly sweet flavor to the foods being ground. I'd like to know if anyone here has ever tried one made from this type of wood.

[Common Tator]

I have a wood mortar and pestle. Not sure what the wood is. It was turned on a lathe and it is pretty. I use it for grinding spices.

[lunagardens]

I bought one awhil back and the puppy chewd on the pestle when the kids were playing in the kitchen... not very good wood. Very cheap actually.
So I thought I would just make one myself and give me another craft to play with. LOL>

[vicker]

Persimmon would be an excelent choice. It is [B]very[B] dense and impact resistant, polishes nicely and is a nice light color. You might at least make the pestle out of persimmon. Walnut is actually pretty soft and would split easy I think.

[YoYoDog]

A few points from a small time woodworker.

Hard maple is in my opinion the best food grade, high abuse wood.

Coat it periodically with mineral oil for a fresh surface. (Most other oils will go rancid and get someone sick.)

If you use walnut and you have'nt worked with it before, be careful. Walnut is very toxic to some people and they don't find out until after they work with it, especially when sanding. (Also luaun (sp) the stuff that cheap interior doors are made of is extreamly toxic to some people.)

FYI
Dan

[longshot38]

Originally Posted by Forerunner

Walnut is food safe.

Hard maple would give better results for that application, as it is much more dense and less porous.
As for the finish, boiled linseed oil liberally applied and allowed to dry/soak in would be as simple as any.

linseed is not food safe. use the same oil that are used for butcher blocks, mineral oil i think. check with your local county authority if you have one.

dean

[Forerunner]

My mistake.

It appears as though boiled linseed oil may contain metallics.

Here is an excerpt I found on the net.

"Food-Safe Finishes
A summary of non-toxic finishing products ideal for cutting boards, salad bowls, and other food-centric woodwork
by Jonathan Binzen
Food Safe Finishes

After scores of conversations with chemists, regulatory agencies, finish manufacturers, finishing experts, and woodworkers, I found that there are a few finishes that everyone agrees are food safe. However, these finishes tend to be the least protective, and the great majority are in a kind of limbo, with many experts saying most are fine for use with food but with others saying they should be avoided because there are some lingering questions about their safety. In the welter of contrary opinions about which finishes are food safe and which are not, a few naturally derived, unblended, no-hidden-ingredients, certainly nontoxic finishes stand out.

Pure tung oil. Extracted from the nut of the china wood tree. Used as a base in many blended finishes. Available from catalogs and hardware stores. Difficult to apply, requires many coats, good water-resistance.

Raw linseed oil. Pressed from flax seeds. Not to be confused with boiled linseed, which contains metallic driers. Listed as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Very long curing time, good looks, low water-resistance, frequent reapplication.

Mineral oil. Although derived from petroleum, it is colorless, odorless, tasteless and entirely inert. Sold as a laxative in drug stores and as a wood finish in hardware and kitchen-supply stores. Simple to apply, low waterresistance, frequent reapplication.

Walnut oil. Pressed from the nuts of the walnut tree. Sold as a salad oil in health food stores and in large grocery stores. Walnut oil dries and won't go rancid. Easy to apply, frequent reapplication.

Beeswax. The work of the honey bee. Can be mixed with an oil to create a better-smelling, slightly more waterrepellent finish. Sold in woodworking and turning catalogs.

Carnauba wax. Derived from the Brazilian palm tree. Harder than beeswax and more water-resistant. Can be used straight on woodenware as a light protective coating or a topcoat polish. Sold in woodworking and turning catalogs.

Shellac. A secretion from the lac bug. Harvested in India. Super blond shellac in flake form is the most waterresistant variety. A film-forming finish. Sold in woodworking catalogs and hardware and art supply stores.

Nothing. Available everywhere. Makes a reasonable finish for woodenware. No application time. Free.

A recipe for one sweet finish
The food-safe finish that appeals most to me is one recommended by Jim and Jean Lakiotes, West Virginia makers of spoons and other kitchen items, as well as furniture. Their finish is a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax.

To make it, warm the mineral oil in a saucepan over low heat, and melt a chunk of beeswax in it equal to about one-fifth or one-sixth the volume of the oil. (At high heat, there's a potential for fire. Be sure to keep the heat low, and consider using a double boiler.) As the wax begins to flake apart and dissolve, stir frequently. When the mixture is blended, pour it into a jar to cool and solidify.

To apply, wipe on an excess of the soft paste, let it dry a bit, then wipe it off. If you want to apply it as a liquid, you can reheat it. Like any mineral oil or
wax finish that will take a lot of abuse, this one will need to be reapplied often to afford decent moisture protection. But applying this fragrant finish is such a pleasure that you may find yourself looking forward to the task.

This article is excerpted from Jonathan Binzen's article "Which Finishes Are Food Safe," featured in Fine Woodworking #129."

[hotzcatz]

That article pretty much covers it, doesn't it?

There is a finish called "salad bowl finish" which is available at some hardware stores but I've not had personal experience with it. I generally use shellac made from shellac flakes. http://www.shellac.net is where I get the flakes from. There is a process called "French Polishing" which is an absolutely easy way to use shellac and the finish is stunning.

[lunagardens]

Thank you or al the great information and tips. I think I will just ask around for some hard maple. Do not want to chance it with the walnut.
I bought some carving tools (cheapy kind) to try out with wood carving. I do not have a lath (i think that is what they call it) so will be carving all by hand from a branch section.
Thanks again,
Tammie

[pheasantplucker]

hickory

[insocal]

I brought an olive wood M&P back from southern France a number of years ago. It is extremely hard, dense, food-safe wood if you can get it.