White oak for cutting board????

[Lynn Sonier]

I want to make a few of those cutting boards made from alternating strips of maple and black walnut. I have, however, quite a few pieces of white oak. Is white oak acceptable for cutting boards??
Thanks in advance for your response.

[Ken Salisbury]

Is white oak acceptable for cutting boards??
<p>

YES !!

[Rob Russell]

I disagree with Ken.

White oak looks nice, but it's not as great as his big, red answer would imply.

Any species of oak is an open-pored wood. Those pores will tend to trap food particles and breed bacteria more than woods like maple. The oak would certainly work, but it's not as good. That's why butcher block tables and counter tops are maple - not oak.

Also - doesn't walnut pose an allergy problem for some?

Rob

[Howard Norman]

I disagree with Ken.

Also - doesn't walnut pose an allergy problem for some?

Rob

I have heard of the walnut allergy problem but I have never run into anyone that has the allergy. Therefore, why worry about it unless you know that someone actually has the walnut allergy?

Howard

[Lynn Sonier]

Speaking of allergies, I am probably allergic to the prices my local lumber yard will charge for mable and walnut; however, I will go with the majority and use maple.
Thanks a lot, gang.

[Bill Grumbine]

Any species of oak is an open-pored wood. Those pores will tend to trap food particles and breed bacteria more than woods like maple.
Rob

Yes and no. Yes, the pores will trap particles if not cleaned properly. No, bacteria will not survive. The University of Wisconsin did a study on a number of different wood species about 10 years ago, comparing them with plastic cutting boards. There is something about wood which causes the bacteria to disappear to unmeasurable levels within a very short time. If I recall correctly, something like 90% of the bacteria was gone within three minutes, and after 24 hours, the researchers couldn't find any. By comparison the bacteria on plastic boards grew thrived, developed political systems, built roads, etc.

If the boards are going to be used in a manner that would ensure they are cleaned promptly and thoroughly, I'd say go for it.

Bill

[Don Farr]

But I think walnut and maple really makes an attactive board. If you use 8/4 boards and get them as wide as possible you can make several boards out of just a few board feet.
Good luck.

[Rajiv Dighe]

I have heard of the walnut allergy problem but I have never run into anyone that has the allergy. Therefore, why worry about it unless you know that someone actually has the walnut allergy?

Howard

While discussing this on another forum, I heard from a forum member there whose wife has such a severe allergy to walnut that she had to be given urgent medical attention just because she went lumber shopping with him & handled a walnut board unknowingly. if you know that given wood can possibly cause allergic reaction in someone, why take the risk?

--Raj

[Howard Norman]

While discussing this on another forum, I heard from a forum member there whose wife has such a severe allergy to walnut that she had to be given urgent medical attention just because she went lumber shopping with him & handled a walnut board unknowingly. if you know that given wood can possibly cause allergic reaction in someone, why take the risk?

--Raj

In the case that you sited, walnut would not be appropriate. However, should one stop using walnut because of the rare instances of walnut allergy? I don't think so.

Howard

[Rajiv Dighe]

In the case that you sited, walnut would not be appropriate. However, should one stop using walnut because of the rare instances of walnut allergy? I don't think so.

Howard

In this instance she didn't even know that she was allergic to walnut. Let's assume for arguments sake that I am going to be making bunch of cutting boards for sale in craft sales that happen around christmas timeframe. Now that I am aware that walnut can cause this reaction in some rare instances, how should I handle it? Should I print a warning label indicating that walnut is used in this board & may cause allergic reaction in some people? sort of like the warnings that they have in ice-cream stores or candy/chocolate store?

That was my main concern. If I am going to be making one for say your use, I can always ask you before I use walnut if you or anyone in your family has any known alergies or not. but how should I handle those that I may make for sale to perfect strangers?

Although I do not make my living on WWing, I do tend to earn some tool money ( very minor amounts to be precise ) this way. I would rather not have an incident on my hands. I would love to know what would be proper way one of you experienced folks would handle this situation. Personally, neither me nor anyone inmy family is allergic to walnut & I will actually be finishing a sofa table as well as some side tables in walnut soon for our own use.

Regards,

--Raj

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Good Point Raj. With todays society leaning toward litigation for the smallest, most insignificant things, this may be a good subject to run across an Attorney, just to be on the safe side. While I don't consider a severe allergic reaction to be a small, insignificant thing, I personally would feel terrible if I sold a product to someone that caused such a reaction. Better to be safe than sorry. Just a thought.................

[Howard Norman]

In this instance she didn't even know that she was allergic to walnut. Let's assume for arguments sake that I am going to be making bunch of cutting boards for sale in craft sales that happen around christmas timeframe. Now that I am aware that walnut can cause this reaction in some rare instances, how should I handle it? Should I print a warning label indicating that walnut is used in this board & may cause allergic reaction in some people? sort of like the warnings that they have in ice-cream stores or candy/chocolate store?

--Raj

A label might be appropiate if one was selling them at craft fairs.

Howard

[danny haber]

Lynn,

I made a wooden cutting board 3/4" thick from maple and mahogany. Has held up pretty well over the past 3 years. When the board started to look too well "used", I just ran it thru the planer, recoated it with some salad bowl oil and it looked brand new. Sure it is slightly thinner but you can't tell. When the board eventually looks too thin, I will make another one. As far as the allergy question, I'm sorry that I can't answer that one. In my case like I said, I used mahogany only because I had some left over and all the pieces I built for my family room (attached to the breakfast area) are a combination of maple and mahogany. I really should post some pics.....Danny