purpleheart ?

Frank Fusco

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Mountain Home, Arkansas
I'm making several cutting boards for gifts and in keeping with my "there is no such thing as scrap wood" philosophy, I'm using whatever wood I have on hand to do the job. OK, just call me cheap.;) Enneyhow, out of the 'not-scrap' scrap bin I pulled a five foot piece of 1"x4" hunk of purpleheart. "Make a nice contrast in the cutting board", I thought to myself. Then "Uh-Oh!" I thought. Purpleheart is an exotic wood from South America and a lot of what comes from there can be toxic. But, I just dunno :dunno: about purpleheart. What say the jury, would it be OK to use on something that touches foodstuffs?
 
I've never had any problem with the purple heart that I'm aware of. The only down side it does get very dark over time and not a dark purple almost black. But that is the nature of purple heart. Yes it is sealed with mineral oil or what ever your finish is.
David
 
I've used quite a bit of purpleheart in cutting boards, but typically in thinner accent stripes, not the primary cutting surface. As far as the toxicity of the wood, I believe the main concern is the dust, not food contact with the wood. (I'm willing to be corrected on that point if anyone has more info.) Still, if it was reasonably sealed I wouldn't have any qualms about using it in a cutting board, other than the color change David mentioned. And I'd use mineral oil as the finish.
 
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