Homemade Mash Paddle Pics

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Here's mine. We call the brewery the "Brainy Bison Brewery," thus the bison track mash paddle design.
A hunk of cherry, a little cutting, routing, sanding and some butcher block oil.
8601650904_0f8d90fa09_b.jpg

8601651572_734a7d5d4a_b.jpg
 
Jsslack said:
New mini mash paddle for one gallon batches.

View attachment 115863
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henceforth when brewing, i command thee to play clutch (or some other suitably rocking tunes) at full volume while air-guitaring on your mash paddle between stirs. post pictures of aforementioned rockingoutness on this forum and reap the praise.

you're welcome.
 
I went against-the-grain, if you will. I made a paddle out oak and it worked as good as you'd expect. Then I spent 10 bucks on a huge-*ss stainless steel whisk/whip at the local restaurant store. Works awesome. It would not work awesome on larger than 5 gallon batches, but for what I do, it does a way better job.
 
Here's mine, just finished, sitting in my mash tun. Maple, rough cut then filed and sanded smooth. Pretty simple, but the place I got the wood only sold 10 foot lengths, 6 inches wide, so I have enough to make 7 more this size. A little more practice with my power tools and I'll try something a little fancier.

IMG_6306.jpg
 
Hah, you will when I do them! I want a whole collection of neat looking ones to put in my basement bar and use in rotation.
 
sweetcell said:
henceforth when brewing, i command thee to play clutch (or some other suitably rocking tunes) at full volume while air-guitaring on your mash paddle between stirs. post pictures of aforementioned rockingoutness on this forum and reap the praise.

you're welcome.
Click to expand...

This was its maiden voyage. A SMASH with briess 2 row and galena hops.

IMG_0681.jpg
 
For those who made a maple paddle - what are the best tools to use? I do not want to spend a lot because that would defeat the purpose of saving money by doing it myself. Thanks all!
 
I use a drill to cut started holes, a 25 dollar jig saw with some regular old fine tooth blades, a file and some sandpaper for smoothing. Nothin too fancy.
 
funnycreature said:
Any suggestions for more intricate work like carving? I'm afraid that if I buy a $10 set of carving knives they will not work right.
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I've dabbled. I got a set of carving knives from my stepdad and started playing around.

The handle is combination carving knives and dremel carved:
0418tophandle.JPG

Here's the weave grip being carved out, all carving knives except for the drill holes between the weaves:
weavegrip_chisel1.JPG

Finished weave grip:
0411dime.JPG

Paddle:
0418_finished.JPG

Its not usable, unfortunately. The middle of the wood was dried out and i didnt notice it until i cut into it... went ahead and finished it anyway. Turned out pretty cool but now its just decor.
 
TaylorInOK said:
I've dabbled. I got a set of carving knives from my stepdad and started playing around.

The handle is combination carving knives and dremel carved:


Here's the weave grip being carved out, all carving knives except for the drill holes between the weaves:

Finished weave grip:


Paddle:


Its not usable, unfortunately. The middle of the wood was dried out and i didnt notice it until i cut into it... went ahead and finished it anyway. Turned out pretty cool but now its just decor.
Click to expand...

That is excellent! I don't dare asking how long it took you... Where do you get the ideas/methods for the templates? Also, it looks like you are using the cheap carving knives too (no offense if they're expensive ones, I don't know anything about carving).
One last question: You cannot use the dry wood because it would crack?
 
funnycreature said:
That is excellent! I don't dare asking how long it took you... Where do you get the ideas/methods for the templates? Also, it looks like you are using the cheap carving knives too (no offense if they're expensive ones, I don't know anything about carving).
One last question: You cannot use the dry wood because it would crack?
Click to expand...

Thanks :mug:

Took about a month working a little at a time on it. I drew alot (A TON) as a kid and have always been kinda creative but the only real things that i came up with myself was the tribal'ish pattern and the outline (horns etc) of the paddle. Everything else was inspired/half-duplicated from some of the wonderful works of the people on this site and beyond.

They are very, very cheap knives no offense taken. I really don't know much about carving either... at least not the technical aspects. I just tested different things on scrap wood to see what looked cool.

If the wood is dried out, it's extremely porous and will soak up liquids and rot really quickly. I could have tried to seal it or oil it but i didnt want to take the chance of damaging it.
 
TaylorInOK said:
Thanks :mug:

Took about a month working a little at a time on it. I drew alot (A TON) as a kid and have always been kinda creative but the only real things that i came up with myself was the tribal'ish pattern and the outline (horns etc) of the paddle. Everything else was inspired/half-duplicated from some of the wonderful works of the people on this site and beyond.

They are very, very cheap knives no offense taken. I really don't know much about carving either... at least not the technical aspects. I just tested different things on scrap wood to see what looked cool.

If the wood is dried out, it's extremely porous and will soak up liquids and rot really quickly. I could have tried to seal it or oil it but i didnt want to take the chance of damaging it.
Click to expand...

My dream is a paddle from wildvinecarvings.com:
nordic1.jpg

but it's almost $250. So I thought I'd try my luck.

What wood are you using? I bought some maple and it seems very hard... WIll get the cheapo knives after work then and try some dummy carving as you did!

Thanks again!
 
funnycreature said:
My dream is a paddle from wildvinecarvings.com:
but it's almost $250. So I thought I'd try my luck.

What wood are you using? I bought some maple and it seems very hard... WIll get the cheapo knives after work then and try some dummy carving as you did!

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Yeah that's very impressive! I used maple. It's not bad once you get used to it.

You'll need a wood burning tool to run the darkened details like that. They can be bought pretty cheap too at your local dept stores.

Best of luck!
 
TaylorInOK said:
Yeah that's very impressive! I used maple. It's not bad once you get used to it.

You'll need a wood burning tool to run the darkened details like that. They can be bought pretty cheap too at your local dept stores.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I might try my soldering iron first but maybe I have to buy a wood burning tool. It will be a "sit in front of the telly with wifey and still do something useful" project :mug:
 
Got my maple and managed to cut the general shape with an electric saw but just trying to carve anything out of this wood seems so tedious! I wish I could spend the money on some decent tools but I'm stuck with the semi-dull $35 set from ebay.... Does anyone have suggestions how to use a router or a dremel for carving?
 
funnycreature said:
Got my maple and managed to cut the general shape with an electric saw but just trying to carve anything out of this wood seems so tedious! I wish I could spend the money on some decent tools but I'm stuck with the semi-dull $35 set from ebay.... Does anyone have suggestions how to use a router or a dremel for carving?
Click to expand...


Get some bits suitable for wood, for your Dremel, and practice on some scraps that you cut away.
You'll notice, ( quickly), that traveling in one direction is more controllable than the other!

Router?..............You'll need a stout template / guide to follow with one of these, and the same applies as above.

I've ruined quite a bit of stuff with a router..............:eek:
 
Stealthcruiser said:
Get some bits suitable for wood, for your Dremel, and practice on some scraps that you cut away.
You'll notice, ( quickly), that traveling in one direction is more controllable than the other!

Router?..............You'll need a stout template / guide to follow with one of these, and the same applies as above.

I've ruined quite a bit of stuff with a router..............:eek:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads-up! I thought the router would be the better choice but wrong again :D

What kinds of bits are you referring to? I got plenty that came with the dremel (clone) but they're probably the wrong kind...
 
Your Dremel probably came with some "burrs" or "rotary files" type of bits.
These teeth will normally clog up with wood.
You want something with a more "open" pattern.

Do you have the booklet with your Dremel?
It should show what's available, and recommended for different material types.

Or look here:

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accesso...400+Series+&application=Carving&material=Wood

I didn't know what model you had, but plug in everything about your project on the home page under "Fast Finder", on the top right.
 

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