Sassfras

[Scoony]

Made a trip to one of my lumber suppliers to pick up some walnut and poplar for a TV console. Talking to the owner about seat blank material, and he mentioned curly 8/4 sassafras. He had 2 boards left, and the price was right. Now I need to somehow get four seat blanks out of this.  Can't wait to get these through the planer to see the figure that is hidden by the blade marks.  

[AHill]

Nice! I have a very small piece of sassafras I took home from a Roy Underhill class at WIA several years ago.  It is a wonder smelling wood when you're working it (think root beer), and it really does have a nice chatoyance to it when smooth.

[Steve N]

Smells great but makes me nauseous as all get out. I've never thrown up, but it isn't a good feeling. Keeps me from using it again. You will definitely want to wear a mask using it, it is a carcinogen, rare but still why chance it for just wearing a mask. Even wearing my respirator I still get nauseous though. I think it is skin contact there, because after the first nausea bout I have worn a full face respirator whenever I tried to use what I had, and I ended up just trading it off.

list of wood sensitizers

[Scoony]

I have worked with it before, made a step back cabinet a few years ago. Love working with it, as its very easy on hand tools. Looks great with a coat of milk paint letting the grain show through. Also a good substitute for chestnut. Shop will smell like root beer for a few days after milling.

[dg152]

One of the woods we have available here in middle Tennessee is Sassafras. I bought a few boards from a local sawmill and used them to make an outside chair. According to the sawmill operator, Sassafras is good for outdoor projects and weathers well. The wood works easily but, as others have pointed out, it does have an odor not unlike root beer. Not my favorite smell since I'm allergic to root beer. I've still got a couple of boards laying around and will use them for something someday.

[paulmaine]

There are different kinds of Sassafras. I used some and never will use it again-the dust made me sneeze so much-never again.