Horned Mash Paddle from Hell

[SoonerDoc]

That is impressive! Nice work!

 

[TaylorInOK]

Little update:

The weave grip is done.. also put a little texture in the dragon tail. Some cleanup on the cuts needed there. I also rounded the horns on the bottom. It actually looks pretty cool with the flat top i may just sand and leave it.


Just for fun to show how tight the pattern is.


Here's the hop vine pattern i'm going to try and make look good.


Started the trace cuts. I'll be pulling the outline out and flaring it to make it look kind of gun stock carved.


Again, thanks for all the great comments!

EDIT: the vine hop pattern is kind of foo-foo i know but it's all part of it i guess. Figured id put little horns on the hops or something so it's at least an attempt at sticking with the evil theme. It's also at a stage now that i can sand it all off if i don't like it.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

This is pure awesome. The grip is unbelievable!

 

[frankstoneline]

nice work man!

 

[tom_gamer]

Burn out the vine. I think it would look cool.

 

[noodle23]

Dude that is the most bada** paddle ever!

 

[TaylorInOK]

Thanks guys!

Burn out the vine. I think it would look cool.

I've never done that, but i'll play around with the idea before i do anything else with that part. I know there are specialty tools for doing it but do you think a soldering iron would work?

 

[TaylorInOK]

Ok so i grabbed the soldering iron and it worked ok... just took forever but i practiced on a larger hop i'd cut out and was playing with techniques. I really like how you can shade doing this.

So thanks Tom! I think i may go that route with the vine... though i may have to wait until i can afford the burning tool... they are pretty inexpensive but i still have to wait for payday.

Here's the practice hop i tried burning on.



EDIT: Sorry for the crummy picture.. i uploaded a new on hopefully that's a bit sharper.

 

[FastTalker]

This is great. It's design by committee.

 

[Nightstalker]

That is insane .. Great work.

 

[dime1622]

Unreal, man. That paddle is totally metal.

My only worry would be down near the bottom where the gaps get very narrow - might be kind of difficult to clean. Either way, I'd be happy to both mash with that AND take it to see Behemoth next Monday :rockin:

 

[DubbelDach]

Unreal, man. That paddle is totally metal.

My only worry would be down near the bottom where the gaps get very narrow - might be kind of difficult to clean. Either way, I'd be happy to both mash with that AND take it to see Behemoth next Monday :rockin:

Why would you need to clean a mash paddle?

 

[brewski08]

Why would you need to clean a mash paddle?

Rotting spent grain (even in small amounts) smells like a dirty butt hole.

Cleaning that paddle would be a huge priority especially if you want to display in your house.

Looks awesome. You should consider customizing paddles.

I'm about to graduate from college and am considering turning my old fraternity paddle into a mash paddle.

 

[TaylorInOK]

Thanks guys!

Completely agreed on the narrow gaps. After the initial cut I went through the points with a dremel carving bit and got it pretty smooth and wide enough that you can roll a half-dollar through. Your right, it would still take special attention though, but i was hoping just a good garden hose sprayer on "jet".

UNFORTUNATELY, it' won't ever mash. The stock i got was dead/dry/dying whatever in the middle and the more i cut/sanded the more it became evident on one side of the paddle. I've already gone through the angry/depressed/denial stages about it and have decided that it would just be stained and hung.

Here's a closeup of the greek tradgedy that is now officially the "back side" of the paddle:


Dead/dry and porus. Would be like a saltine cracker in a mash.

So i'm just going to keep on detailing the front and maybe make a plaque or something to hang it on. My initial thought on what the plaque would read is an inscription that reads: "Heaven won't take me, and Hell only wants my beer."

Not doing much with it today though, it's bottling day.

 

[watsons27]

Props

 

[BeerGuy1000]

That is the coolest thing I have seen in awhile, very good job

 

[TaylorInOK]

Picked up a wood burning tool from the local department store for 10 bucks.

Thanks again to tom_gamer for the idea of burning the vine design into the wood.



Just some touch-up shading left to do on the leaves but all in all i think it turned out pretty slick.

 

[ChemE]

Awesome work! Before you totally discard the idea of that paddle ever seeing mash you might give a hand rubbed finish a shot. Tung oil is my favorite and when done properly it penetrates very deeply and could very well seal up and bind together all the porosity of that one dry spot.

If you don't know, you hand rub extremely thin layers of tung oil into the wood such that there is no excess to wipe off. You can sand with 0000 steel wool between coats but nothing more coarse than that. Then comes the tedium: a coat a day for a week, a coat a week for a month, a coat a month for a year, a coat a year for life. Around the 1 month mark it should be so deeply penetrated that you change your mind about it being strictly ornamental plus the grain texture becomes three dimensional and amazingly gorgeous. Food for thought!

 

[TaylorInOK]

Thanks for the info ChemE. So there's hope! I'll definitely try it I just didnt think anything would close these porus spots up. Also i was looking for a finisher/stain anyway so if tung oil makes the grain pop then i'm all for it and if it repairs this dry stuff then it's a bonus.

Thanks!

 

[ChemE]

Hey my pleasure! I hope it works for your since it would be a shame for that paddle not to taste mash. One last tip on tung oil, the crap that Blows and Home Despot sell is not suitable for fine woodworking; it is cut heavily with solvent which dissolves the previous coat when you reapply. You want 100% tung oil from Rockler or others. Shipping is a killer since it is hazmat (funny since it is food safe and comes from food; its a pH thing) but it is worth it.

 

[TaylorInOK]

Another great tip! I would have just grabbed some from lowes. However, I'm lucky enough to have a woodcraft around and they carry the pure tung oil made by wood river so looks like i'm set! Thanks so much!

 

[ChemE]

*tip* my pleasure; can't wait to see if it works or not!

http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=26893

 

[passedpawn]

+1 on the tung oil. I use it on my workbench and it's luscious.

[ The bench is made from maple and poplar - if tung oil can penetrate that maple, it'll get into anything. Bench was made from part a a bowling alley lane... side-nailed maple 1x3s. ]

 

[TaylorInOK]

Thanks guys. I'll definitely go that route.

Quick update pics.

My wife gave me the idea to carve out rope-type paterns on the blocks holding the horns to make it look like they're tied onto the paddle. Here's the cutouts... will be burning the rope pattern in.

The top of the paddle will be my brewery name "Big T's Brewhouse" relief carved and i'll be carving out "Brewhouse" inlay style and burning in the barley.

Rope pattern & Top Handle still in works:


Full monty to give a good idea of how it will look finished:

 

[barrooze]

Love it! Well done!

 

[TaylorInOK]

All done minus a little sanding and of course the tung oil applications. I'll post a before and after pic in a couple weeks.

Full frontal:


Top handle:


Hop vine design:


Weave grip:


Paddle:

 

[ThreeBrothersBrewery]

Wow.... Just wow.

 

[HawksBrewer]

Speechless.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

That thing is gnarly! I can't wait to see what the application of the oil will do to the paddle!

 

[SamuraiSquirrel]

Phenomenal......... i now want to take up wood carving just so i can make something like this......