Unusual Project - Unusual Question

Dave Hoskins

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Parker County, Texas
A customer has asked me to make a mortar and pestle set which is normally no big deal. I turn a ton of them. But, this one is gonna be 10" in diameter with a depth of 5". This set, from my understanding is going to be used sort of in the commercial aspect for making hummus. So it will be used a lot. I am turning it from pecan. My question is how thick should I make the walls? I am at the point where I can go with almost thickness. So, help me out with some opinions folks! :D
 
Sorry, I know it's the wrong answer but this just sounds like a CNC question to me.

I would make it thick and heavy. Corian sounds like a nice material for this.

I would make it rectangular with a pocket in the middle and roundovers all over.
 
I'd lean toward thick and heavy duty if making one for myself, maybe use a ten inch thick cookie and dish the top. Talk to the client and get their druthers.
 
With hickory/pecan in my experience if it cracks in the first two days of drying in the kiln, then what you see is all that will happen. I am sure there are exceptions occurring in that. As far as the customer goes, she has left everything to me. She is presently using regular metal mixing bowls but wants to go more traditional I think. When I first put it in the kiln it was about 11 1/2". After 3 days of kiln time I took it down to 10 3/4" with a solid coat of walnut oil. The only cracking it suffered was about 1/2" deep on the lip which I left wood to accommodate that. Seeing it will be in constant use I was thinking about turning it to about 5/8" thick walls. With it being pecan that surely would be adequate??? Maybe??? That's why me asking others for their thinking. I didn't say anything about 5/8" cuz I didn't want to influence the thinking of others, kinda like asking the audience on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. :D
 
I guess I'd leave it pretty heavy for that use case. I can't see any real downsides to having it as thick as you can keep it as long as you figure its stable and its not to heavy for your client to handle in use.
 
I think you're in about the right ballpark with 5/8" walls, Dave. Aesthetically it should look about right, I think. And that should be plenty thick to handle all the mortaring and pestling. :)
 
Well, 5/8" it is. Thanks, guys! Helps to have a general consensus on something unusual like this. I've got the mortar part just about done. Still want to take a bit more off the inside. It being pecan and dry it is being a little contrary on that. The outside looks good. I have two pestles roughed and drying. See which one looks best. With heavy rains moving in tomorrow I won't get anything done. Thursday a wonderful combination of events. Doctor and then brisket and all the fixings. Then Friday back at it. Maybe tamales Friday evening. :D
 
I'll settle for a good plate of tacos.

True story... LOML was talking about needing to buy some stuff from from the grocery store and had listed a series of planned dinners. She had a fair list going and I was following along "uh huh uh huh uh huh" (as you will). She got to the end and I asked "what about the tortillas"? She asked "what tortillas"? I replied :"you know for the tacos!!!". It turned out that taco's weren't anywhere on the list of things we'd planned to make. We did however end up buying tortillas :)
 
Ain't nothing wrong with a row of tacos to mow down!!! Love the things as well. I always have tortillas around. Good for tacos, dipping in beans, all kinds of things. That's a regular here in this house. I normally make up the grocery list seeing I do the vast majority of the cooking. I'm not sure just how much she appreciates that fact but I guarantee you the dogs do! :rofl:
 
Well Dave i gave up. I was trying to find a link to an image of the mortar and pestle that i saw on a episode of Antiques Roadshow that took place in UK. This guy came to roadshow with a find that dated back i think it was hundreds of years. The mortar was the full size of a huge log surrounded by a i think it was a brass or metal band to stop it from cracking and the pestle was a long handled device at least 6 or 7 feet long and it was captive at the top by a bracket the guy did not have that with him. It was put in place and not moved i presume bracket was mounted on wall or something back in the day.

Thats where my thoughts went when i read your post.:D
 
I'm glad I'm not tasked with making one that big. Whew! The one of the size I am doing is rather straight forward being just a regular mortar & pestle enlarged a bit. That's plenty big for me. Antiques Roadshow does have some neat stuff now and then.
 
I have't made one 10" dia yet, most of mine are in the 5 to 7 inch diameter.... I usually leave the walls about 1/2 inch thick... seems to work good for my customers.
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All your talk about tamales made my hungry and I don't have any appetite no since I'm fighting a sinus infection, lung congestion and an almost constant cough..... but being a good Texan, and Dianne being a good transplanted Texan (she's originally from Illinois - but grew up in inner Houston) about half our grocery shopping is for tortillas, chorizso, queso, crema (Mexican sour cream), peppers in all varieties, taco spices, taco shells, and any thing else she see in the latin food department. Good Golly Tamale's is a favorite vendor at the Farmer's Market every Saturday.... his tamales aren the real McCoy, but good enough that we usually buy them by the dozen.... They use a little too much masa and not quite enough filling, and not all their tamales are mexican flavor.... they make a Thai Chicken that is to die for.
 
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