Mash Paddle?

Anyone ever make their own mash paddles? I am thinking about doing this but am unsure of the best woods, oils etc...

Search. The noob's best friend.

I made my own out of Walnut. Will post a pic later. Just make sure its a hard wood. My first one was out of Pine just to see how it would come out.

Heres some pics of the one I made. Its about 22 Inches long and works great for my Mash Tun

I made mine out of a nice piece of 3/4" Ash. I used a scroll saw for the details and a router to finish the edges. I intend to go back and etch in the hop bines and grain stalks:

Just finished this

yesterday. I used two 1" oak dowel rods, and a 1/2" dowel rod. The sides are 8 inches long, the center 3 feet. The 4 rods connected the sides to the center are 4", 4 1/4", 4 1/2" and 4 3/4" inches in length. They are spaced 1 inch apart. The total cost was around $11 for the wood from Home Depot. I didn't use glue since they are a very tight fit, and wood expands when wet, making it even studier when in use.

jfulton said:

Just finished this

yesterday. I used two 1" oak dowel rods, and a 1/2" dowel rod. The sides are 8 inches long, the center 3 feet. The 4 rods connected the sides to the center are 4", 4 1/4", 4 1/2" and 4 3/4" inches in length. They are spaced 1 inch apart. The total cost was around $11 for the wood from Home Depot. I didn't use glue since they are a very tight fit, and wood expands when wet, making it even studier when in use.

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Nice work! There is good reason why traditional mash rakes were designed this way. You might consider using some small wooden pins to hold it together. Only if it needs it later on, of course. I'm thinking it may loosen up with some use. That's how my store bought version was constructed and it's been holding up very well for a long time. No nails, screws or glue used at all as far as I can tell.

I have 2 drawn out need to cut this weekend 1 is 24" one is 32". Red Oak for the wood.

I have one sketched out, I am going to be using a piece of AA curly maple that I have had sitting around for ages, I just keep putting it off in anticipation of winning one in a contest!

I was going to make one, but bought a Cajun Stir Paddle like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BAYOU-CLASS...762?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c11f4c362

I think I may cut a hole or two in it with my router. Something similar to what EricT did above.

Catt, can you explain the wood pins?

FoundersBrew said:

Catt, can you explain the wood pins?

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I think he means it has wood pins that run the length of the handle and two sides to secure them and other four dowel rods in place.

Randar said:

I made mine out of a nice piece of 3/4" Ash. I used a scroll saw for the details and a router to finish the edges. I intend to go back and etch in the hop bines and grain stalks:

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Thts a beutiful mash paddle, very nice work. I need a scroll saw

EricT said:

Thts a beutiful mash paddle, very nice work. I need a scroll saw

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You don't want to know how long it took me, even with proper equipment. I would definitely simplify the pattern and make the "holes" larger.

Randar said:

You don't want to know how long it took me, even with proper equipment. I would definitely simplify the pattern and make the "holes" larger.

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I can immagine, disconnecting and reconnecting your scroll saw blade 41 times would be a pain in the a$$. (yah I actually counted the holes) I took a much more simple approach

I didn't have the heart to count but it was actually more than that since some positions were not very maneuverable due to the length of the paddle and the arm of the scroll saw getting in the way... But it is beautiful now!

I probably could have built a walk-in-cooler instead.

I spent like $6 for 1"x4"x3' piece of maple at Menards.

Went with a simple design, I still have some sanding to do. I had a handle up top, but a dull roundover bit ate it.

Made mine from Red Oak blank from Lowes

I like the random holes; your design is really cool!:rockin:

I dont think you can beat that price.

I asked for the stainless on for christmas.

http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/1042_stainless_steel_cooking_paddle.htm

limulus said:

I was going to make one, but bought a Cajun Stir Paddle like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BAYOU-CLASS...762?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c11f4c362

I think I may cut a hole or two in it with my router. Something similar to what EricT did above.

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I bought a 3 foot, red oak, 1x4 from HD for about $6. Cut out a paddle shape and burned 4 holes in it with a hole saw. I would post a pic but it is late and in the garage.

DO NOT OIL THE MASH PADDLE!!!!!

Oil destroys head.

FoundersBrew said:

I like the random holes; your design is really cool!:rockin:

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Thanks - I wanted it to look like "bubbles" ...

FoundersBrew said:

Catt, can you explain the wood pins?

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The wood pins are actually very small dowel pins. Holes were drilled through the intersection of the vertical and horizontal bars, then the small dowel pins were driven into the holes to secure the joint. The small dowel pins could be made from something like wooden shish kabob skewers or maybe even round wooden toothpicks. They don't need to be very large. The small pins are driven all the way through the junction. The protruding ends are trimmed off and sanded smooth. I will try to take a macro pic or two later today which should help explain how it was done.

Mine's made of Red Oak bought from Lowe's, too. I "finished" it with mineral oil.

So after seeing all these nice diy paddles, I decided to mod my store bought paddle and drilled some holes. It is a 36" long Bayou Classic paddle with diy holes

Carved this from a Canadian Plasta-fir tree. No oiling necessary, does 6 and 12 gallon batches with no problems.

wildwest450 said:

Carved this from a Canadian Plasta-fir tree. No oiling necessary, does 6 and 12 gallon batches with no problems.

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I've been wanting to try that plasta-fir stuff for a while. How does it hold up to high temperatures? I hear they are easy to keep clean too.

Homercidal said:

I've been wanting to try that plasta-fir stuff for a while. How does it hold up to high temperatures? I hear they are easy to keep clean too.

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Yes and yes, a very versatile material.


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wildwest450 said:

Yes and yes, a very versatile material.


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is that like composite decking stuff?

-=Jason=-

It's a joke, it's just a plastic mash paddle

pickles said:

It's a joke, it's just a plastic mash paddle

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Don't scoff at my plasta-fir paddle!

Mine is nothing fancy, but I built it for $3 with materials from the local hobby store. I chose the square stock because it made drilling easier without a press. I would like to make something nicer out of solid wood in the future when I'm not on a shoe string budget!

My neighbor has a Plasta-fir Christmas tree in their living room.

tjpfeister, I like the old school rake style. Nice job.

Classic Design Mash Paddle, just finished.

very nice, i like that style!!!!

Thanks! Materials were about $6.00 from Lowes. After I got used to using my new drill press (free from my brother-in-law), the total construction time was only 15 minutes!

I bought a $3 crawfish paddle from HD, and drilled some 3/4" holes in it, works great!

Not as fancy as your rakes, but very effective, nonetheless.

How hard is it to still out those dowels without a drill press? Maybe just start with a small pilot hole?