I am commissioned to do a bowl for a lady using spalted maple and she asked
this question. If a salad bowl is made from spalted maple is it safe to put
food in it since it has a fungus in which made it spalted? What should I
tell her. Bill

Tell her it won't hurt her. She's not going to be breathing in what
extremely few dormant spores there could be in there as long as she takes
care of the bowl and doesn't let it go to dust. g This also assumes that
you have let the bowl get below 20% RH for a few weeks before you apply any
finish to it.

Watch out how spalted the bowl is or else it'll seep and leak pretty badly.
This can be taken care of with a good filming finish but then you have other
concerns to deal with as to toxicity levels and time.

- Andrew


"Bill Badland" wrote in message
...
I am commissioned to do a bowl for a lady using spalted maple and she
asked
this question. If a salad bowl is made from spalted maple is it safe to
put
food in it since it has a fungus in which made it spalted? What should I
tell her. Bill

Have you never heard of penicillin? Molds have been contesting their
dinner with bacteria for billions of years. The toxins they have stumbled
upon are antibiotics, and _allergens_ to many.

Not to mention the make-the-world-safe-for-bacteria society would descend on
you for fostering resistant strains.

Tell her you don't know, because birch ain't brie.

"AHilton" wrote in message
news
Tell her it won't hurt her. She's not going to be breathing in what
extremely few dormant spores there could be in there as long as she takes
care of the bowl and doesn't let it go to dust. g This also assumes
that
you have let the bowl get below 20% RH for a few weeks before you apply
any
finish to it.

"George" wrote in message ...
Have you never heard of penicillin? Molds have been contesting their
dinner with bacteria for billions of years. The toxins they have stumbled
upon are antibiotics, and _allergens_ to many.

Not to mention the make-the-world-safe-for-bacteria society would descend on
you for fostering resistant strains.

Tell her you don't know, because birch ain't brie.

"AHilton" wrote in message
news
Tell her it won't hurt her. She's not going to be breathing in what
extremely few dormant spores there could be in there as long as she takes
care of the bowl and doesn't let it go to dust. g This also assumes
that
you have let the bowl get below 20% RH for a few weeks before you apply
any
finish to it.




Your E-Mail is not working. I am interested in the wood.

I'm not sure where in this thread anyone was selling wood, but you're
welcome to fill your pickup with some from my woodpile if you pass through
upper Michigan.

"MCR" wrote in message
m...



Your E-Mail is not working. I am interested in the wood.

I have turned several bowls from spalted maple and nobody has died yet. At
least I don't think so. I finish them with mineral oil and tell the
recipient to refinish from time to time. My biggest problem is high failure
rate because of hidden interior flaws. The successes are some of the stuff
I am proudest of and well work the occasional wasted time.

Bob Moody

Actually, the only fear from spalted wood is for other wood that may
spalt. We are not made of lignin and thus do not need to worry about
those particular organisms. Just make sure to avoid the dust while
turning as it is as dangerous as any other dust.
--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS, Canada
http://www.roundthewoods.com