Red Oak Salad Bowl

[dickhob]

Two questions-

I have been asked to make a salad bowl out from green red oak. The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking it might not be a good idea.

Red oak is pretty porous wood and I'm wondering if even after performing the normal wash with warm soapy water and dry immediately instructions, the salad oils might settle in and become a breading ground for bacteria and/or mold.

I was planing on using 100% tung oil for a finish.

Second question- This oak is supposed to be fresh and green. I'd like to turn it all the way to a finished bowl. Can someone comment on how much warping to expect. I know it depends on a bunch of stuff, but does oak have a reputation for staying round or excessive warping?



Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Dick

 

[MichaelMouse]

You'll have to make an effort to fill the pores prior to finishing. No big deal, people have been doing it forever with certain woods. Varnish and sanding swarf is probably the easy way. Watco has been recommending it for years, and any other will work as well.

Turn to finish will give you something unusual-looking, Pretty good look at what to expect in the way of warp here. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/LogEnd.jpg Flatter the rings, less the warp.

Salad oils will certainly work their way into the wood. Detergent wipe after, vinegar wipe prior to use will take care of things.

 

[hockenbery]

Dick,
Red oak makes a nice bowl

For turning to finished thickness green, I would either
Turn a natural edge bowl without the bark ( this shape improves with the warp)
Or turn a conventional bowl with the rim to the barkside so warp will then make the rim sort of wavy
Often trees have a flat side that I like for these bowls.

A large crotch might work well too. The natural edge will have three ups. A bit mor difficult to line up and turn but worth the effort.

Also on the natural edge I would make it footless with Round bottom. As long as the curve is gentle it will be quite stable an suitable for salad.

Turned rim to center the warp will make two peaks on the end grain which rarely looks good to me.

Have fun,
Al

 

[dickhob]

Micheal- Thanks for the pic. I've been looking for something like that for a long time so I can help me and others visualize how wood moves.

I assumed that a filler would work its way out with use and time- particularly as a bowl that is constantly used for salad- Not true?

Am I understanding correctly that a vinegar wash will kill any residual bacteria?
That is is wonderful piece of info to know.

Al- I hope you realize that my head is now swimming with new shapes and I will not be able to sleep tonight! Trust me, I will have a lot of fun with this.

Thanks to both of you.
Dick

 

[MichaelMouse]

The filler is a flexible as the finish, so it should be fine. Seems to be in slurry-filled stuff fifteen-twenty years old. Don't count on it being flexible enough to fill and conceal gaps, especially cross-grain gaps in flat joinery. If you have a gap, glue a wedge of similar wood in proper orientation and it'll pretty much go away. Gap is something you can distinguish, while pores are anonymous.

The picture is already paid. From The Wood Handbook from FPL http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/publications/several_pubs.php?grouping_id=100&header_id=p. Government can't copyright.