Steer clear of rosewood for any human contact items....
river rat said:
I am planning on makeing some baby rattles for friends with infants, I have some burmese rosewood and have checked the toxicity page on the web site but it does not address chewing on rosewood, I know the dust can effect some people. I plan on putting a bee's wax finish on them so dust is not an issue.
River Rat
My advice would be to choose another species of wood rather than use ANY member of the genus
Dalbergia for baby rattles, rolling pins, honey dippers, etc., if indeed the wood you are asking about is a true rosewood.
Since it's likely that the surface of the rattle (or anything else used by kids) will be damaged, the choice of what you use as a finish is a moot consideration. Even simple skin contact directly with the wood (and the oils it contains) can cause dermatitis; it does not have to be in a dust form to have negative health effects. The possible toxicity of this particular species (....even though it doesn't appear on the 'toxicity page') can be projected to be quite high, given its close relationship to other rosewoods.
With so many non-toxic species of wood to choose from, I don't know why you would even consider making baby rattles out of a rosewood species, knowing that many of them have been demonstrated to be toxic, or at least mildly so. Stick with beech, maple, cherry, poplar, or even oak - something that is known to be fairly safe. Use the burmese rosewood for something else that won't be in skin contact with humans for very long.....
(Prof.) Rob Wallace
Botanist - Iowa State University
