# mortar and pestal



## michael dee (Apr 6, 2015)

I need some help here, my wife is wanting me to make her one. Does this need to be made out of a very hard wood are does it matter.My thought process is that it would need to be , because of the grinding of the pestal in the mortar.I am a little lost here so any help would be appreciated , hell I don't even no if I am spelling it right , much less what it should be made of .Also what kind of finish would go in on this . Thanks


----------



## EastmansWoodturning (Apr 6, 2015)

Michael, I just turned 100 of them a couple weeks ago and they went to a customer in Boston but he was selling them to use in drinks and called them muddlers. He wanted hard maple and walnut finished in mineral oil.


----------



## EastmansWoodturning (Apr 6, 2015)

H


----------



## EastmansWoodturning (Apr 6, 2015)

He finally settled on the last profile and it was tricky to duplicate the dome that many times consistantly but time will tell when and if he reorders. Practice,practice,practice


----------



## michael dee (Apr 6, 2015)

Is that the piece that you use to mash the ingredients in the bowl?


----------



## EastmansWoodturning (Apr 6, 2015)

michael dee said:


> Is that the piece that you use to mash the ingredients in the bowl?


Yes


----------



## michael dee (Apr 6, 2015)

That is definitely cool , really like the figure , did you make any of the bowls .


----------



## EastmansWoodturning (Apr 6, 2015)

I make a lot of bowl but not for this customer, just the muddlers as he called them


----------



## MikeMD (Apr 6, 2015)

I have to use these for grinding up pills for our horse from time to time. Stone, though...and I can't imagine wood being hard enough. Not saying you can't, just saying that there is a lot of force you have to used for many pills, and I can't see wood (just about any) not denting (and therefore leaving traces of the pills in the wood)...which may not be great for some meds.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## elnino (Apr 7, 2015)

i made one out of verawood(fake lignum) worked okay but didn't really mash stuff that great but i'm use to using stone based ones. i was using it in a really big shallow ulu tray i made. Maybe that was the issue.


----------



## NYWoodturner (Apr 7, 2015)

I made one by special request for a woman who cooks a lot. She said they use them almost daily in Spanish / Peruvian cuisine to bring up herbs and garlic in oils and such. She called the Pilons (Probably screwed up the spelling) She said they buy them made out of cheap whitewood and have to replace them at least monthly because they would split. I made her one out of genuine lignum that she gladly paid a pretty handsome price for. She has had in in use for over 3 years now and says its just like brand new.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## EastmansWoodturning (Apr 7, 2015)

Corian would be another option

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## Molokai (Apr 7, 2015)

Texas ebony, olive wood


----------



## ripjack13 (Apr 7, 2015)

What about truestone? Is that hard enough?


----------



## ripjack13 (Apr 7, 2015)

http://www.beartoothwoods.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=22_110


----------



## NYWoodturner (Apr 7, 2015)

Had to leave for work this morning and didn't have time to take pics of the one I was talking about. There was no finish on this - just a buff with white diamond. The lignum is naturally oily so it shined up really well on its own. If you can find I would highly recommend Lignum Vitae. I also think the olive Tom suggested would do well.

Reactions: Like 2 | Way Cool 2


----------



## ripjack13 (Apr 7, 2015)

Nice!!!!


----------



## MikeMD (Apr 7, 2015)

Hey, you've got your pestle on a pedestal!

Reactions: Funny 2


----------



## El Guapo (Apr 7, 2015)

I would think that you could get away with a wooden pestle, but the mortar would probably need to be stone. I think wood would absorb too many flavored from the spices being ground. Just my thoughts.


----------



## michael dee (Apr 8, 2015)

El Guapo said:


> I would think that you could get away with a wooden pestle, but the mortar would probably need to be stone. I think wood would absorb too many flavored from the spices being ground. Just my thoughts.


I agree totally with what you said about using the wood but she wants me to try it, so I am going to give it a run.


NYWoodturner said:


> Had to leave for work this morning and didn't have time to take pics of the one I was talking about. There was no finish on this - just a buff with white diamond. The lignum is naturally oily so it shined up really well on its own. If you can find I would highly recommend Lignum Vitae. I also think the olive Tom suggested would do well.
> 
> View attachment 76027
> View attachment 76028


That is very cool , if I can find some lignum I will give that a try.I guess I will post in "want to buy " section. Thanks for all your help and comments.


----------



## duncsuss (Apr 13, 2015)

I think wood is fine for both mortar and pestle. If you use a beechwood mallet on the butt-end of a wooden chisel handle, you're basically doing the same thing. (Put your finger in between if you'd like to know how the items being crushed are going to feel about it )

Also, butcher-blocks and meat-tenderizing mallets do fine. If the wood needs oiling, I'd suggest mineral oil (a.k.a. butcher block oil).

Reactions: Agree 1


----------

