Suitable woods for carving eating/cooking spoons

**Heavansabove** · 3rd June 2013, 06:29 PM

Hi, new to this forum, I look forward to participating.

I have sizable garden prunings, and am running out of chisels and files to rehandle. So to spoons and bowls. I currently have quite a bit of privet (eventually got to an unused part of garden), and whilst the flowers and seeds are a problem, are there any problems with the dry wood itself. Will also be attacking the overgrown crepe myrtle, camellia, rhododendron, bottle brush, macadamia, mango, along with a very old lemon (50+) no longer carrying its weight - none of these are listed as problematic.

Are any of those a problem, the NSW Dept of Ag poisonous garden trees/plants publication rarely mentions the timber itself being toxic, with a couple of exceptions etc Rhus, Oleander?
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/ass...-to-people.pdf. I have searched the forum, but have not turned up this info.

Thanks for your help, the spoons (pretty rustic at this stage) are starting to emerge from the green wood, so I don't want to poison anyone. Maybe I should stick to some huon pine offcuts?

Thanks
Peter

**BobL** · 3rd June 2013, 07:58 PM

Of the ones on your list I have used bottle brush and lemon, mainly for salad servers and cooking spoons.

**Heavansabove** · 5th June 2013, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by BobL

Of the ones on your list I have used bottle brush and lemon, mainly for salad servers and cooking spoons.

Thanks BobL, the bottle brush is huge and pretty ugly, so lots of wood needs to be removed to "tidy it up"

**BobL** · 5th June 2013, 08:06 PM

Here are a couple more, sheoak and WA Red Gum

These were made from a 4" diam trunk from the neighbours kerbside pick up. It was some kind of Melaleuca.

**Pat** · 5th June 2013, 08:24 PM

"bottle brush, macadamia, mango" I'll have some

I have found that short boards of 12 -15mm thickness make good feeder material, but you make spoons out most timbers - Red River Gum, Jarrah and Crows ash were the last lot. I made another Crow's Ash set 8 or 9 years ago . . . we use them every day, no finish. They have burns from the gas flame, but are still strong and good stirrers.

Lemon is another great turning timber . . .

**Heavansabove** · 7th June 2013, 04:08 PM

Thanks for the good ideas and pictures fellas, I intend picking through footpath stuff as well.

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