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Seawolf · 08-09-2008, 11:06 PM

Here's what I made today. It'll be treated with Tung oil, which is FDA approved food safe and will preserve and waterproof. I went with a two-row design which I thought would be perfect for a mash paddle.

**John Beere** · 08-09-2008, 11:08 PM

Looks awesome! great job...

billtzk · 08-09-2008, 11:50 PM

Man, that is definitely one of the best looking mash paddles I've ever seen. Great job!

What kind of wood is it? How'd you cut the two-row design?

How much you wanna sell it for?

**BlindLemonLars** · 08-09-2008, 11:57 PM

Very nice!

When you decide to start mass producing them, I'm first in line.

eschatz · 08-09-2008, 11:59 PM

wow! thats one beautiful paddle!

+1 on the mass production. i'm good for one.

Evan! · 08-10-2008, 12:03 AM

That's pretty sweet...I do worry about the very thin areas of wood in between the openings, though. Looks a little like mine...I made one awhile back that's similar, but took a lot less work, obviously, because I just cut circular holes and then used a flush roundover router bit on the holes:

I never treated it with anything, even tung oil, just because "FDA Approved" doesn't mean "Beer Approved". I worry about any oils coming into contact with my wort, what with head retention, etc., so I just used a dense hardwood species (curly maple) and sanded it to 1000 grit. I've used it a few dozen times and it cleans up real nice. IIWY, I wouldn't use any oil or treatment...that is, unless that wood species is an open grain softwood.

Rick500 · 08-10-2008, 12:14 AM

I build guitars and use tung oil quite a bit. I'd probably use salad bowl oil or something similar on a mash paddle.

The "tung oil finish" that you'll usually find, is most likely a blend of tung oil and other stuff, usually mineral oil and possibly some petroleum-based products.

Looks great!

flyangler18 · 08-10-2008, 12:18 AM

If you want pure tung oil, I recommend Real Milk Paint. Excellent products and they send some hard candy with every order!

Nice looking paddle- and I have the same reservations about the thin wood between the cutouts.

EDIT: I just hit a mini-milestone with 100 posts! MOD EDIT: Fight Club.

**fat x nub** · 08-10-2008, 12:26 AM

I like that a lot...maybe i will make my own too.

Seawolf · 08-10-2008, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyangler18

If you want pure tung oil, I recommend Real Milk Paint. Excellent products and they send some hard candy with every order!

That's exactly what I ordered!!

I used maple, and I pressure tested the paddle with my hands, and the outer edge is what really counts. It's 1/3" all the way around, and strong as an ox.

Tung oil is exactly what is used on salad bowls. Once purchased, salad bowls should be maintained with mineral oil.

Tung oil cures with oxidation, and will not leech into food, or a mash for that matter. I'm not really worried about oil and head retention. Oil doesn't break surface tension like soap would. Plus, hop oils are present in beer and doesn't affect the head. Furthermore, New Belgium uses olive oil for aeration with no ill effects.

The paddle assembly went like this:

I was considering buying a paddle, but I felt weird about spending $45 plus shipping for one. I figured that if I buy a jigsaw, and some lumber, I could make one for about $56 and essentially get a free jigsaw out of the deal.

I drew up some plans on a piece of paper, and fiddled around with barley shapes and configurations. Once I drew my plans onto the actual maple, I cut a barley template out of paper, and traced it onto the wood. The shape and size just happened to be perfect, and I got two beautiful rows of kernels. I drilled starter holes at the corners of each kernel, and used my rotary jigsaw to make my cuts.

Note: I've never used a jigsaw before this morning.

I thoroughly sanded everything to shape and smooth, starting with 40 grit, and working up to 2000. This puppy is smoooooth! Feels like glass.

Thank you all for your kind words. If I had a way to mass produce these, I totally would.