Is Ipe suitable for a childs puzzle?

[jm51]

I've just been given an offcut of Ipe. google says it's also known as Greenheart or Ironwood.

Would this be safe to use as a childs puzzle? If it's hard to cut, so be it, it's any toxicity problems I'm checking up on. Don't want to poison my granddaughter.

[Bill Wilson]

I would probably save the Ipe for something else. I don't kow that it is necessarily toxic, but I found this statement on another site.

"Safety: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Ipe has been reported to cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation, as well as other effects such as headaches and/or disturbance of vision.

Here's the source;

Ipe | The Wood Database - Lumber Identification (Hardwoods)

Besides being a potential irritant, Ipe is an extremely hard wood and won't be the easiest to cut. There are other, more suitable, alternatives out there.

[jm51]

Thanks. I'll save it for use as a base for a bandsaw box or similar.