Thread: What To Use? Non-reactive Wood

Hi Christos,
I like to make Scoops, but I like Richard Raffan's Design.
His Scoops are in his 1st. Book, " Turning Wood ". Got a bit of age on it now.
I wood rather Turn them, than cut them, but they look pretty good to me.
Niel & Pauline's Food Safe wood be just the right Finish, with a few seconds in the Microwave, just to push the oil in.
Forgot about the woods. Blackwood, Cypress (not Murray Pine), Cotoneaster, Photinia, Huon Pine, Blackheart Sasafrass, & the list goes on.
Well, that's my 2sense worth.

I'm away from the office and haven't got my copy with me but if someone has a copy of Bootle (Wood in Australia: Types Properties and Uses) in the back there's a section on recommended woods for certain applications.
I know that there is a category for Ice Cream Scoops, just can't remember what was listed.
If no-one else chimes in I'll have a look when I get home next week and get back to this.

Hoop pine is a pretty safe bet, used for paddle pop sticks and in beehive frames.

From Bootle, 2nd ed, pg381

Ice cream spoons and sticks: Hoop Pine, Klinki pine & Radiata pine.

Good Morning

Here is Tasmania wooden scoops were quite commonly in use up until the sixties (plastics and aluminium displaced them) and ranged in size from quite small domestic ones through to very large ones in commercial bakeries - before industrial baking.

From memory, the main timbers used were huon pine, king billy pine and white sassafrass (just sassafrass without any black heart). King billy was the most common - quite light and very resilient. Absolutely no surface treatment was done - no oiling, varnishing, painting, etc - except the handles were often painted differently for colour coding purposes.

Its a long time since I worked in the international timber industry but the AQIS rules then required that all foreign timber had to be pressure or infusion treated before importation. I would not use any imported timber in a food environment for that reason. With some timber species it is difficult to tell if they are domestic or imported - eg hoop and klinki pine and kwila could come from Queensland or PNG or the Solomon Islands, among others.



Fair Winds

Graeme

If you're not hung up on using a wood native to Australia, any fruit wood (apple, citrus, cherry, etc.) works well and looks good.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Its a long time since I worked in the international timber industry but the AQIS rules then required that all foreign timber had to be pressure or infusion treated before importation. I would not use any imported timber in a food environment for that reason. With some timber species it is difficult to tell if they are domestic or imported - eg hoop and klinki pine and kwila could come from Queensland or PNG or the Solomon Islands, among others.



Fair Winds

Graeme

I'd say that any Johnston River Teak (Kwila) cut in North Queensland would stay in North Queensland... it only has a narrow geographic range up here and I doubt any cut locally would make its way south anymore... cheaper to freight it ex PNG then by road ex FNQ.
Probably most of the commercial hoop would be treated too, though it shouldn't be that hard to get untreated but just not at the hardware store.

I've got some untreated Silver Quandong you could have for the price of the freight if you wanted a little bit. I see no reason it couldn't be used... used to get some food grade usage back in the day, and it carves and polishes well. Be a nice contrast with a black/brown timber for the other scoop... least you'd know which was for sugar and which was for salt.

I might be a bit WA bias but I would use Jarrah for the salt ,and Sheoak for the sugar,both food safe and great looking.

Originally Posted by dusteater

I might be a bit WA bias but I would use Jarrah for the salt ,and Sheoak for the sugar,both food safe and great looking.

Good Morning dusteater

I must also be a bit biased - against using such tough timbers for carving. But they sure are great looking timbers.



Fair Winds

Graeme

An interesting variety of species. I do have one or two of the mention variety in the shed I just got to local it.