Speaking of toothpicks............

Mark Rios

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797
Location
Central CA
What type of wood are toothpicks made out of? Are they treated with anything to keep them from splintering so that some stupid idiot from here in California doesn't sue the manufacturer for a billion dollars? Or is the particular type of wood one that doesn't splinter when wet?

What about the yummy cinnamon (or other) flavor of toothpicks? Same wood or different wood?

And for you turning folks...is there a special chuck for turning toothpicks?

How are they formed?
 
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Can't answer any of your questions. But, I find them indipensable in a shop. Wouldn't know how to get by without them. Use for tightening screw holes; same for holes in antique furniture tenons; spreading glue; decorative plugs in small items and lots of other things.
 
What type of wood are toothpicks made out of? Are they treated with anything to keep them from splintering so that some stupid idiot from here in California doesn't sue the manufacturer for a billion dollars? ...

If they were treated, California would require a Prop 65 warning to be printed on them. Just imagine how small the print for that would have to be...:D
 
As I understand it, they're made from primarly Birch ... Though you may find some made of maple, too.

I've never known any of them to be treated. Straight grained birch and maple are pretty resiliant and don't tend to splinter much.
 
I really don't know what they are made of, but one thing for sure is that they are DEFINITELY NOT made from the same quality wood that they used to be made from, and maybe they aren't even made from the same species of wood that they were back when............

Most I see now break easily, have cross grain AND quite a few even splinter in use.

I do think that the old ones must have been made of maple and were quite a bit harder and stronger than these today, (which are most likely some off species of wood from China like most everything else we get anymore). We used to have 4 to 6 max, trains a day through here, (East/West tracks), but now we have between 16 and 22, and MOST of them are totally container trains, from Asia going East from /Calif to wherever.........., and the Westbounds are likewise mostly EMPTY Containers.
 
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