Thread: Help, Newbie here, Understanding Wood Types

If you type ‘camphor laurel breadboard’ into google there is a gaz zillion sizes, prices, explanations so it appears you won’t be the first one to make a breadboard.

if you look into camphor ‘oil’ this can be good for you and is in many health remedies but in large quantities it can be bad for you. Camphor oil can also be mixed with turpentine perhaps one of the reasons it is bad to ingest.

my assumption is that a camphor laurel breadboard is ok as long as you don’t eat it or steam distil the oil from it and ingest this oil.

as a side note it seems that it is also now a weed so that makes your breadboard sustainable too.
cheers

Welcome

Originally Posted by AmburE191

Problem is that I have been told that Camphor Laurel wood is toxic. I've been researching all afternoon, and honestly I cannot find a straight forward answer that says yes or no.

All wood is toxic to some extent or other - if you eat enough of it, you will die. The question is how much wood will you end up ingesting during any cutting process? One of the most toxic Aussie timbers is Cooktown iron wood. A few years back I worked out an adult would need to eat about 200 toothpicks worth of to have a serious effect. If anyone can eat 1/100th of a single toothpicks worth of wood during a cutting process I would be highly surprise.

I'd say that wood workers with no or poor dust extraction systems ingest far more wood from dust than they do from cutting boards.

Originally Posted by AmburE191

Hi Guys,

Newbie here! I have just brought some Camphor Laurel and my goal is to sand it down coat it with a sealant and then use resin and have that "river flow" effect. I also what to turn it into a breadboard. I have food safe resin and I am experienced in Resin so thats not the problem.

Problem is that I have been told that Camphor Laurel wood is toxic. I've been researching all afternoon, and honestly I cannot find a straight forward answer that says yes or no.

I am wondering if anyone on here can explain to me something about this wood.

Thanks for your time!

Ambur

Wood toxicity is a complex subject Ambur. The biggest variable is not the woods used but more the person who works with the wood or uses it ie how sensitive you or they are eg to wood dust or contact. For example, some react to blackwood, others don't. Some people are very susceptible to asthma, allergies, contact dermatitis or allergic reactions. These are warnings you need to take extra care. Some reactions are quick, others slow and insidious (can cause cancer eg European Beech from long term exposure). The health side is complex and variable. If you are concerned with any health reactions after working with wood speak with your doctor.

Woods are “toxic" because of the chemicals that a tree produces and stores in it pores or vessels. These chemicals are not all the same, they are unique to species according to the trees biochemistry. Some are colored, some colourless, some are volatile others are not.

Now to your question. Camphor laurel produces volatile compounds which emanates from wood surfaces and dust. Most of these are relatively innocuous (eg menthol and camphor which are used in commercial, over-the-counter skin rubs and medications eg Vicks, various heat rubs and cold lozenges. Some woodworkers (milling, sanding or planing it for hours) who are exposed to these camphorous vapours for hours especially in hot conditions, may get headaches or nosebleeds. But these chemicals are considered very mildly toxic otherwise they would not be used in such medications. Other woods can be much more toxic of course for other reasons and require careful handling (wood dust especially).

The oil in the camphor wood pores continues to emanate vapours from the surface until the chemicals are gone, or are blocked by a layer of resin of film (ie a surface coating). Some chemicals may migrate slowly through oil and resin finishes. Oils are the most permeable, resins least. You can reduce the volatiles in camphor laurel by steaming it (the steam removes much of the volatiles) or heating (eg kiln-drying of wet wood.) Complete removal may take time and effort depending on thickness. But, given the mild toxicity of camphor and menthol (major constituents) I would be less concerned about toxicity from this wood and and more about food taints.

I suggest try it on a bread board. I have seen many for sale. See if you can taste or smell camphor in bread or cheese which can be migrating from the wood.. Even if you can, toxicity is unlikely to be a problem but be cautious and wary. I am writing this as a retired researcher on wood chemistry and wood toxicity. These are my personal and professional opinions on camphor laurel. Other opinions may differ, although I have co-authored on wood toxicity in the past and studied wood with unusual properties. I hope this is helpful Ambur

Eugene D (Euge)

These sorts of questions are so hard to give proper answers to. A wise chap whose name is so long (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim) he went by the pseudonym of "Paracelcus" said, about 500 years ago (I paraphrase): "Everything is toxic, there is nothing that is completely non-toxic, it's the dose that makes a substance a poison". Common table salt is lethal at about 1100 mg per Kg bodyweight, and pure, clean water can kill you if you are foolish enough to over-imbibe (& it actually happens!). Given the relatively low acute oral toxicity of camphor wood, you would have to eat an impossibly large number of slices of bread to get even a bellyache, using it as a cutting board.

Long-term consequences of consuming small amounts are too uncertain & too complicated to assess, but let's say given all of the other compounds a modern person is exposed to, the contribution of minute amounts of camphor wood would be lost in the background.

I would be far more concerned about the chemicals in the resin you propose to use.....

Cheers,

All wood is toxic, if you work it, but as a bread board is totally different. To be poisoned by Camphor Laurel you'd have to eat about 2.5 really old trees in one sitting, and even then, it would be the fibre that probably kills you rather than any chemicals within. In India they drink a glass of the oil as a good health regiment.

Camphor Laurel as a bread board is actually your best choice as it has been proven to be antibacterial. You can leave it natural without any side affects or taste taints, or alternatively treat it with a natural coating like what I use, Pure Mineral Oil and Bees Wax, to help preserve the timber.

As for resin cutting boards, most resins are inert once cured, but usually easily chip under the knife. I for one wouldn't like resin chips in my food. Serving platters are fine but keep the cutting boards free of resin

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Camphor Laurel as a bread board is actually your best choice as it has been proven to be antibacterial.

All wood is antibacterial to some extent or other, that's how it survives in the wild. Less positive are cracks and rough surfaces that can trap food. If enough food is trapped the wood may not be able to counteract the bugs that grow in these so keeping wooden cutting boards smooth and crack free is a good idea.

+1 on teh pure mineral oil as a coating.