Best wood for a Rolling Pin?

**old pete** · 3rd July 2010, 06:22 PM

Hi Luxyboy,

I've made many many hundreds of the dreaded things. I make two styles the standard English cylindrical pin with fancy handles. I use blackwood for the handles and Huon Pine for the barrels. They look great. I dimension the barrel the best I can get out of 75 x 75mm starting stock and the handles have a max dia. of 35mm.

Then I make the so called French Pin ie. a cylinder with tapered ends. I make them a standard 420mm overall with the barrel the best I can get out of 50mm over cut starting stock. That usually works out at about 47 mm or 48 mm finished. I use Huon Pine for these but I have used celery top when i have had it to hand.

I've also used plain sassafras for both types. It's a fantastic timber for the job but it doesn't retail well at all with the punters.

I don't think there is any need to oil or polish rolling pins. Finish to 400 grit and polish with abrasive cloth to get the residual dust out.

If you must oil then they say that Macadamia oil does not go rancid over time. I've used it frequently on circular cutting boards and sometimes these are on my shelves for up to 9 months till the season comes around again. They certainly haven't gone 'off' in that time frame.

I've got two chunks of cotoneaster about 700mm x 80 mm dia sitting in my workshop that someone gave me from their garden years ago that I've been waiting to find a use for.A very dense wood. I'll put them into pins and see how they come up. That species must be one of the most robust timbers on the planet. Although the pieces I have are limb wood there is no sign of end cracking on them whatever after years of drying.

Old Pete

**Paul39** · 4th July 2010, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by joeyjons

I'm in trouble then Hughie, I made mine out of olive!

Originally Posted by Allen Neighbors

; I make them like the one Joeyjons posted. Only 2" (50mm) thick... and about 350mm long. Dare I say it... shhhh.... it's the French style....

Lovely shape, didn't know it was the french style.

**Sebastiaan56** · 4th July 2010, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by issatree

Get that Canola off that Pin ASAP, as sooner or later you will wonder where the Smell is coming from, as Canola goes right off. ( Rancid )?

Strictly speaking its called "reversion" and Canola gets a fishy smell when it reverts. It takes forever to polymerise to a hard goo unlike other vegetable oils. It will revert first.

**Manuka Jock** · 4th July 2010, 01:50 PM

I use rice bran oil , and have no problems with it going rancid, on food items or any others .
Its' cheap too

**Luxyboy** · 7th July 2010, 02:09 PM

Thanks for the replies guys

Old Pete - I can't find any pictures of Cotoneaster wood only the plant; do you have any examples of it finished or does it go by any other name?

My favorites are:
1. Olive
2. Blackwood
3. Tassy Oak
4. Huon Pine

I love Tiger Myrtle but I don't think it comes in larger sizes

Untitled Web Page - 2008-06-10 at 04-01-53

Does anyone have a peice of any of the above mentioned, large enough to make the size pin I want?
Anyone want to give me a quote on them making it and sending it to Brisbane?
If someone has the wood to sell but doesn't want to turn it, let me know and I'll ask the local turning group if they will turn it for me and I can just get the wood from you.
PM/Post/E-mail pictures and a quote for me if you can/want to make this or sell me some wood.

About to start a family so I can't get a lathe like I had planned to

(happy to have kid, sad to not get my toys)

Thanks,
Brad

**Frank&Earnest** · 7th July 2010, 03:21 PM

As says, no need to go fancier than Radiata for that kind of pin. Only barbarians oil them.

But if you want it to make traditional hand made tagliatelle, you need it about 1200 long, only 40 thick and made preferably of walnut or similar hardwood.

If you insist on olive, I could probably make it for you to your specs.
Or in Cotoneaster to the specs above, but I would charge its weight in gold.

**Frank&Earnest** · 7th July 2010, 03:39 PM

Originally Posted by old pete

I've got two chunks of cotoneaster about 700mm x 80 mm dia sitting in my workshop that someone gave me from their garden years ago that I've been waiting to find a use for.
Old Pete

Hi Pete. I plan to use the cotoneaster I have saved for small sculptures. If that is not your cup of tea and would like to swap it for olive or other stone fruit timber let me know.

**John T** · 7th July 2010, 05:51 PM

hi luxyboy i have made rolling pins from huon pine celery top pine blackwood tassy oak +very expensive tiger myrtle for a lady in sydney for $80 + freight special order dementions 600x75mm

**Sawdust Maker** · 8th July 2010, 06:21 PM

I've only ever made one for rolling out play doh

so is about 200mm ish long

If you need to treat it with something ubeaut has a new food safe product for this type of work, unfortunately I cannot find it on his website

**Luxyboy** · 8th July 2010, 08:14 PM

John T - Can you get Tiger Myrtle the size I want with the lovely tiger striping like in this link:
Untitled Web Page - 2008-06-10 at 04-01-53

Well the missus likes the Olive, Blackwood and Tiger Myrtle, so:

Frank&Earnest - How much for one made from Olive?
John T - How much for one made from Blackwood or Tiger Myrtle?

I would like to have the flat part of the cylinder 500mm long and the ends after that just rounded off like semicircles, please. So the total length would be 580mm including the rounded ends; I allowed half of the cylinder thickness for each end for symetrical semicircles. However I realise that it might not turn out exactly that being a handmade product

Really, thanks heaps for doing this guys

**Harry72** · 8th July 2010, 09:36 PM

Jarrah works good, I use paraffin oil for a finish.

**John T** · 10th July 2010, 09:29 AM

Frank&Earnest - How much for one made from Olive?
John T - How much for one made from Blackwood or Tiger Myrtle?

I rolling pin made from tigermyrtle timber alone would be about $75.00

blackwood about $50,00 del brisbane

**Frank&Earnest** · 12th July 2010, 07:59 PM

I sent a PM, but doubt that a pin like that in olive would be practical (over 2.5 kg). The small one in pine my wife uses weighs 230 g.

**robo hippy** · 16th July 2010, 03:15 AM

My choices over here are mostly sugar/hard maple and beech. The fruit woods work fine, but are a bit soft for my liking, but I don't use them. Oregon Myrtle (California Bay Laurel) is a nice wood as well. Mostly you want closed grain, so nothing like walnut.

As to the wife/girl friend/significant other using the rolling pin on the males, that is forbidden under the terms of 'abusing the wood' as she will only dent the rolling pin.

I make them as straight cylinders with and without handles (5 to 10 cm), tapered (both straight and arc) from the center out, straight center with about 1/4 of the length on both ends tapered, long and short (maple about 5cm diameter round and 20 to 30 long, called a palote (pa-lo-tay) for tortillas), some really short ones for dumplings (pot stickers), and any others that the cooks may want.

I finish with walnut oil. I don't know if you can get Mike Mahoney's oil over there or not, but it does cure, and isn't the same thing as the oil you get in the grocery stores.

Any excuse to play on the lathe.

robo hippy

**Rifleman1776** · 16th July 2010, 06:25 AM

I have used Bradford Pear and Maple. Both nice. Any hard, dense wood should be good. Although I would stay away from oil exotics that might possibly be toxic.

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