Camphor Laurel Salad Bowl?

[Ozartisan]

Have just finish turned a large bowl out of Camphor which would be great as a Salad Bowl.
Finished it with EEE & Shellawax and it doesn't seem to have the "Camphor" aroma.
Question is - has anyone used Camphor for salad bowls?
If so, what finish did you use - or did you end up with a salad that no moth will go near?
The bowl is 300mm diameter, 150mm high.

[Ben from Vic.]

Truely beautiful grain you've got there happy.

Very nice.


I personaly think moth repeling salad would be a real hit at the next barbie. ;)

[DanP]

That is a fantastic piece of timber. I know nothing about all the other stuff, but where did you get the wood from? BTW the way you have turned it shows off the figure beautifully.

Dan

[ptc]

Fill it with Mangoes,
they might smell better.
I hate them
but love the smell of camphour laurel
ptc

[JB]

Finished it with EEE & Shellawax and it doesn't seem to have the "Camphor" aroma.


My experience with camphor and other aromatic woods is they only smell strongly when first planed/sanded/dressed/turned. Once you put a finish on, even just thin shellac, you can't smell the wood, or at best faintly, and after a while not at all. If no finish is applied the smell may be activated by wiping with a damp cloth.

[barnsey]

Hiya Happy

Camphor Laurel is probably one of the most underrated weeds in this country.
Your piece shows why - nice job. ;)

I've used it for any number of things and finished similarly as you. Love the smell while I'm turning ( bloody respirator ruins that ) but it does not seem to linger. If you want proof, smell the shavings next day and you'll find the smell has all but disappeared. :o

Mind you I have friends who have a natural edged kitchen bench and cabinets made from it and sprayed finish on the outside. Every time you open the doors you can smell the lack of shellfish and cockroaches come out at you. Bloody handy if you ask me.

IMHO you won't wind up with salads that require pegs to eat it :p and as days go by with washing, drying etc you will probably want to restore the finish & the thing will go on perfectly from my experience. :D :D

Jamie

PS And by the way rapeseed oil is a fine in kitchen preserver too

[reeves]

Now that is a nice bowl there Smidsy.

sounds like what u need is a legit FOOD SAFE FINISH.

The shellwaix is ok but not only will food acids absord it but the washing of the bowl will slowly erode it.

Camphor is pretty antoibacterial itself so no worries there.

try this stuff, Salad bowl finish

http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?cookietest=1&page=5344&sid=AF355

they have a downloadable tech sheet
bit of general info here

http://www.woodworking.co.uk/Technical/Bacteria/bacteria.html

and i think there are obviously other food safe finsihes available...

http://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/

cheeeeers

[Ozartisan]

Thanks for the comments & suggestions guys.
I haven't been turning for too many months, and don't get the time to do as much as I would like - but I must admit - I like to push the boundaries of my ability a little!
DanP - the wood came from an old bushy & axeman - originally from Tassie but now on the Mid North Coast (NSW). He sells firewood, but keeps a stash of good stuff "out the back" that he tosses there when he comes across it. Lots of camphor up there - yep - it is a weed!
Rough turned it then finished it after a couple of months to dry a bit more.
Barnsey - thanks for the idea of using Camphor in the kitchen - will be doing the "retirement" place in the next few years - think I will start accumulating some camphor boards & drying them.
Hey Reeves - know if anyone in Oz stocks that salad bowl finish?

[Don Nethercott]

Most of my turning is camphor laurel. I use Shallawax polish and there is no smell.
It's a beautiful timber. Fortunately there is tons of it in the Clarence Valley - it's a declared noxious weed under 100mm diameter.

I've even got half a dozen trees of various sizes in the backyard, but some in the area are nearly 6 feet in diameter - could cut some huge slabs out of them. I managed to get a big supply when a neighbout cut down one in his backyard - had a diameter of 3 to 4 feet, so I have some fairly big bits.

Have added some shots of a few items I have made.

I know Shellawax needs lots of care of it will wear away so I suggest people only use them for dry ingredients, or use a glass bowl inside for wet ingredients. However Shellawax brings out the colours like nothing else.

One could always use estapol for a durable finish, but I think it looks Yuk!

[Mikko]

Don't know anything about these finishes you are talking about but that bowl sure looks sweeeeet!!! That timber rocks!!!
Need to get some one day....

Cheers,
Mikko

[Ozartisan]

Hey Mikko
Think Camphor Laurel originated in Europe anyway - probably brought here by our "founding fathers" - should be able to find some a bit closer to home I am guessing!

[JackoH]

Let the bowl sit for a few weeks before finishing. Then polish outside with Shellawax , and treat the inside with a vegetable cooking oil (not olive oil) After use wipe out with the same oil. No problem. ;)

[PAH1]

Hey Mikko
Think Camphor Laurel originated in Europe anyway - probably brought here by our "founding fathers" - should be able to find some a bit closer to home I am guessing!

It is from China but many hybrids exist and the australian variety is really a group of interrelated hybrids. From comments made by a yank on the timber part of this forum we have exceptionally well coloured camphor, most of the supply in the rest of the world is bland.


Don't know anything about these finishes you are talking about but that bowl sure looks sweeeeet!!! That timber rocks!!!
Need to get some one day....

The finishes mentioned can be seen at the bottom of the page under "Ubeaut enterprises". They specialise in high quality shellac based finishes. There are a number of people who would be able to export the timber to you. Look in the timber forum in a thread something like "exporters of burl...."

[CHJ]

Seems to be a pest to all but woodworkers:

http://floridata.com/ref/c/cinn_cam.cfm

http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/ktp/unsuccessful/c-camphora.html

Wish you were forced to export it here to the UK (dead of course) though.

Very envious of the more "exotic" woods you guys have to hand.

[barnsey]

Now look at that - CHJ, a recycled teenager from the Cotswolds reckons it would be good to get his hands on a noxious weed that grows here ;)

Why can't those clowns in Canberra get that notion into their thick heads and stop the pillage of old growth forests and turning them into piles of woodchips. :mad:

OK OK Sorry I even mentioned it :(
Off the soapbox now :confused:

[reeves]

Hey Reeves - know if anyone in Oz stocks that salad bowl finish?

nope sorry, maybe emial them and ask....

cheeeeeers

[Mikko]

Heh...here in Finland it would prolly take a greenhouse to keep it alive.:-)
Poms prolly have it as a garden plant, but I doubt it will reach the proportions that it does in OZ.

Our native birch gets similar pattern when it gets old enough. It is usually near the rootbase and is called "loimu" = flame pattern. Colour is lighter though but it is very nice too. When oiled the pattern gets much stronger and starts to have this funny hologram effect. Last week I managed to score few tons of this type of birch!!!:-)
Largest piece weighs whopping 140kgs!!! And that is a half of a round!! Need to get that VB soon.....

Cheers,
Mikko

[Don Nethercott]

Local folklaw is that the early pastoralists planted it to provide shade for their stock - probably after all the native cedar had been felled.

It certainly provided shade, but also provides a nice covering of dead leaves over the lawn, within hours of being mown or swept.

The seeds also make a mess on any paving/steps, etc. Makes going down to the jetty hazardous at times.

Some pictures attached of camphors in my backyard, 2 big ones in a neighbours, and 1 on the street out front.

Biggest problem is that they do nothing for soil erosion. Their roots do not hold the soil and where they have been planted on the riverbanks and replaced native veretation the banks are very quickly being eroded.

On the other hand the trees swarm with birds, particularly the white headed pigeon. Pity they are protected, they are such big plump birds, but don't know anything about their flavour.

Don

[Don Nethercott]

Sorry about the quality of the photos - guess I reduced them too much.
Don

[CHJ]

Why can't those clowns in Canberra get that notion into their thick heads and stop the pillage of old growth forests and turning them into piles of woodchips. :mad:

I wondered who was responsible for the 99% woodchip content of all our "Home Store" furniture. Thought it was all down to the Scandinavians. (SORRY Mikko http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon11.gif)

Guess the World has this image of us "Pommies" as having them with everything.

Mind you 80% of my cheap and cheerful 'office' and workshop units are made from the diggings of our nearest Ikea scrap bins. Must have saved 100's £'s in laminate finished boards.

Re Timber: If you could export your "surplus weeds" to us at the sort of prices your meat arrives here I would not have room in the yard for all the "must haves"

[Mikko]

No probs CHJ!
We are also victims of the evil Swedish chipboard empire. LOL
BTW....Finns are Finns......Swedes are Norwegians are Scandinavians.

Use of solid wood is picking up here as folks are getting sick and tired with melamine and veneer.

We have strong tradition of using wood, and just as it seemed to vanish....tables turned. I'm lovin' it!!!

EU actually has no import limitations for ANY OZ timber!!! Maybe someday I'll fly over just to fill a container or two....:-)

Cheers,
Mikko

[CHJ]

BTW....Finns are Finns.


Noted: Good to see National Pride, hope it does not get diluted by to many foreign imports.