Mash Paddle?

MilwaukeeBrewGuy said:

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

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Problem is keeping all the holes at the correct angle. That's why I chose square stock, because i could put all three pieces next to each other and hold them with a vice, thusly one hole had the same angle through all three pieces resulting in easy assembly. If you rigged up some sort of jig to hold the 3 dowels together in the same fashion that would prevent them from rotating as well, then it would be doable.

I used http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...21x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=00967173000P for the dowels, which helped a lot. It was hard to get the sides holes spaced correctly. I eventually drilled one, placed the dowel in and marked the next.

Picking up some a piece of red oak today for this project. Should make for a nice relaxing project night with a few homebrews. I will post a picture when it is completed. Cheers!

nspaldi0 said:

Picking up some a piece of red oak today for this project. Should make for a nice relaxing project night with a few homebrews. I will post a picture when it is completed. Cheers!

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Looking foreward to seeing it

I just finished making one with fusa's specs and it turned out great. It took forever though, because I don't have a drill press or a guide, but I was bored and wanted to see how close I could get by doing it free hand. The first two pieces went smooth (the main shaft and one of the side pieces) everything was at a close enough angle and everything that they lined up and went together fine, but that third piece just would not work out. I ended up drilling four different 8 inch lengths trying to get the holes to line up as well as the first two did. Finally got one close enough on the last 8 inch section I had before I would have had to buy another dowel. It actually worked out well with them being a bit off-centered because it's not a perfect fit, so it should hold itself together without glue or pins (I had to pound it together). All and all, I would not suggest doing it free hand with the round dowels unless you're ready to spend a few hours on a 20 min project.
Its inaugural brew day should be next week, anything I need to do with it in the mean time to prep it? (sand it, soak it in water for a while, ETC)

Is this not the crafting your tribes magic brew stick?
Is this not the magic stick which makes your tribes brew so desired or the land?
It caries it's secrets from batch to batch or generations.
It is your familial and tribal heritage.

(orchalstral crescendo ends abruptly)

In my opinion, don't oil it. Besides killing foam, it denies your "tribe" it's uniqueness.
(Unless you use plasti-fir, of course)

I must say, after reading this thread a bit I tried using a whisk instead of my cheap mash paddle and I doubt I'll end up making my own mash paddle. The whisk was SOOO much better for breaking up dough balls. I'll very likely weld up a heavy duty SS whisk instead. I'll have to see what sizes SS welding rod we have out back...