Sassafras. Any added health danger?
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The recent article on Low Cost Lumber raises the question about wood dust dangers? Coincidentally, after looking at some nice sassafras I heard a nationally recognizable woodworker state that “sassafras dust would cause health issues above the norm.”
I have a very effective dust collection system and take dust issues seriously but is there any scientific data that would suggest sassafras to be any more dangerous and should be handled differently?
Thanks,
George
Replies
When I was growing up in the hills of West Virginia we used to chew the bark from young growth sassafras. Lots of the old-timers made tea from the roots to deal with various ailments. Ground sassafras leaves are used in filé, an essential ingredient in any really good gumbo. In the early 60's massive doses of safrole, a component of sassafras oil, was shown to cause liver cancer in rats and the guvmint banned it as an additive to food products.
All things considered, I would be more worried about the dust from cedar, walnut and members of the rosewood family than I would about sassafras. I think your first problem will be getting your hands on good quality sassafras lumber. I've been through a lot of lumber suppliers over the years and I don't think I've ever come across a stack of sassafras. It must be out there or it wouldn't have shown up in the article but I've never had an opportunity to work with it.
Regards,
Ron
Edited 4/24/2009 10:40 am ET by RonInOttawa
Ron,Thanks for the information from a native W.Va--grew up in St.Albans but now retired to wonderful mountains of W North Carolina. I actually have the opportunity to buy some very good looking sassafras at a price of $2bf. Thanks again for the info--good woodworking to you.
I am addressing this to geodown but it might be of interest to others, especially in Central to Southern Ohio.
There is a local sawyer here in Central Ohio who has and will cut to your specs sassafrass logs for $0.85 per bf. Now that is cheap. He has been running this ad for several weeks on Craigslist as he has a large supply of logs. He has other lumber available also. You would have to dry it yourself at this price, but I do believe he can kiln dry it also, but at an additional cost.
He is in Laurelville, Ohio, close to Old Man's Cave.
Bruce"A man's got to know his limitations." Dirty Harry Calahan
Safrole, the (possibly) carcinogenic compound in sassafras, is mostly concentrated in the extremities (root bark, fruit, leaves) and not in the woody parts, so I doubt that the wood is especially dangerous. It's listed as being less hazardous than a lot of woods that we commonly use, especially Western Redcedar and many of the rosewoods. For example, see here for a chart.
-Steve
Thanks Steve. Very helpful chart. I'm printing it now.
Well, sassafras root was originally used to make root beer and it contains the chemicals that make up the modern blood thinning drug called coumadin. Modern root beers are processed to remove this potentially dangerous drug (it can prevent clotting). It is very possible that these chemicals could exist in other parts of the plant. Caution is a GOOD thing!
I think you're mixing up two completely different things here. Coumadin is a brand name of warfarin, which is derived from coumarin, which is in turn a plant product. Coumarin was first isolated from clover.The compound in sassafras is safrole, which is a possible carcinogen, but not an anticoagulant.Both warfarin and safrole are used in the production of pesticides, but that's the only connection I can find between the two.Incidentally, coumarin has a vanilla-like aroma, and is sometimes added to artificial vanilla, even though doing so is illegal in most places. It's also a fluorescent dye, and back when I was a practicing physicist, I used it in lasers. ("It's a floor wax AND a dessert topping!")-Steve
OOOPs... I do seem to have misunderstood or misremembered that. Safrole (or at least sassafras tea) does seem to have anticoagulant properties though... historical accounts I have read indicate that this was considered one of the many benefits of the old-style root beers. The blood thinning effects helped people to endure hot weather in the days before air-conditioning. Some reports indicate that the tea (and presumably root beer also) induces sweating too... which would also have a cooling effect. The carcinogenic effects of safrole are somewhat controversial. Some research indicates that it may be specific to rodents. There are some reports of increased human cancers in areas where the drinking of sassafras tea is more common though. My sense is that these do not constitute reasonable evidence against this complex plant and it's effects. Caution may be reasonable though.
Edited 4/26/2009 6:19 am ET by bigfootnampa
Where did you find th sassafras? Very cool indeed.
Am I remembering correctly that some old (1930's? 40's?) carved blanket-chests imported from China were made from sassafras?
I have gotten some excellent sassafras from Groff and Groff. I used it as a substitute for Chestnut (very similar grain patterns). It smells pretty nice when working with hand tools, but can be over powering when run through a power tool.
I take it to the living history park I volunteer at and plane shavings off for the kids, some like the smell and some don't but nearly everyone says it smells like root beer.
Rob Millard
http://www.americanfederalperiod.com
I remember I had mixed feelings about the aroma -- probably because I can't handle root beer, got sick on it when I was a kid and haven't touched it since. I can imagine hand tools would really bring out the scent big-time.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Sassafras is native here in WV in case you were wondering. I don't know how extensive it grows but I doubt it is native to China. If those chests were made today, I'd say the wood was cropped here, sent to China to be processed, then shipped back to the States. When Interstate 68 came through, I had to relocate my house further back and into the woods. Had to remove quite a few trees and of those, sassafras was plentiful. What a smell!
Edited 4/26/2009 12:11 am ET by Tinkerer3
Edited 4/26/2009 8:56 pm ET by Tinkerer3
There is a kind of sassafras that's native to China. It's not the same species as here in North America, but it's a close relative.-Steve
This is reaching back 15 years, but we sold a chest/trunk out of our store, similar to the one pictured below, that we got out of an estate in Seattle. My (admittedly vague) recollection was that these worked their way into the US way back when -- 1940's?50's? not sure about the '30's. It had an aroma that I couldn't ID at the time, but someone who was shopping speculated that it was sassafras. Geeeeez, this getting old is a drag, can't remember a darned thing!
View Imageforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
> GeeeeezAhhh that is ONE NICE CARVED CHEST !rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
A beautiful chest like that and you sold it? -- For shame. Saschafer straightened me out on the different species. The sassafras that we have doesn't grow very large and it is hard to imagine building a large box without extensive gluing. By the way, what size is that case?
Both the leaves and the roots , though being very different, are very aromatic. The leaves might compare more with perfume but the roots might compare with root beer or perhaps somewhat like licorice.
Gotta get this train of thought on the right track: Our chest was similar to the one in the picture. Thinking back, it may have been carved on the top, as well as the front and sides. It was old, from the estate of a gentleman who travelled quite extensively. It was fun being in the antiques and vintage business -- got to own all sorts of fun things for awhile before they went to their "forever and ever" homes.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
>Sassafras . . . native to China . . . carved chests imported from ChinaIt just so happens I have this book http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Chests-Legacy-Extraordinary-Boxes/dp/156158651X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=booksqid=1240724645&sr=1-1sitting beside me and It has a page or two ( pages 120 and 121 ) on chinese chests that came to the USA in great numbers.These boxes were used to transport goods and then the boxes were sold off when emptied. Nice big chests. Could work for blankets. None shown are carved.The book calls them camphor chests.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
> sassafras
A couple of things, not scientific, I needed some camphor wood several years ago. I called all over the US t find a supplier. Seemed like "everybody" had sassafras and no body had camphor. I finally found it about a hundred miles from where I live and the guy turned out to be a friend of a great wood worker that I used to hang out with when I thought there is no way in Hades I will ever work wood because I lack the gene or something.
I lost track of the great wood worker and this guy gave me his location. He had moved to Australia of all places ! He had totally stopped wood working and I had become a total nut for it. Life is strange ! I still lack the gene but struggle on because I have learned to love it.
OK that was off the track. Sorry.
The other thing I was going to say is I may develop head aches from camphor or I may just get a head ache now and then. Who knows. Other than that no prob but I don't make much dust; mostly curls.
Here is a drawer with camphor sides ( walnut front ).
roc
PS: not putting down Australia just could not imagine this guy traveling that far to another country to live. His life, family and grown children are in the USA
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 4/26/2009 1:33 am by roc
George.. I have no idea.
However, I have my opinion. NOT FACT mind you... just my thoughts.
My thoughts would be that the finer the dust the wood makes when cut the more of a problem it is.
One of the reasons I love working white Ash. Not sure if I have ever used black Ash. Maybe I have but I did not know I hade some. I do not have a proper description but the white Ash and Hickory I use cuts in 'little ribbons' and not very fine dust. OK, so sanding on the drum sander is dust!
I have been working with alot of Sapele and Panga-Panga. It produces HUGH amounts of very fine dust. Mahogany about the same. (Althought Mahogany is generally out of my price range).
The Panga-Panga is terrible stuff.. Period! Nice wood BUT the DUST it make is Increasable or is that incredible? I look like a Welsh coal miner after cutting it!
Use a GOOD dust mask. I should have years ago!
Edited 4/26/2009 7:44 am by WillGeorge
Will, did you forget to turn on the dust collection on the sander again!I have used up my very curly sassafras veneer, it was very nice. Now I wish I bought the entire bundle. The man had it for 30 plus years, and He received it from some one else who had it for some time, he had forgotten what he wanted it for. He said perhaps a backer veneer...?Ron in Peabody
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