Mortar and Pestle

[Nozzle]

Hi guys,

ive been asked to make a Mortar and Pestle which im quite looking forward too as it will be my first ever one ive done. (let alone ever used one!)
now i have some question about it:

what is the best type of timber to use? (beech, oak, walnut)
what is the best kind of finish? ( im guessing food safe oil)
how thick does the wall need to be?

and any other hints or tips would appreciated.

thanks for your time.
kind regards

Paul

 

[CHJ]

I've used beech in the past, and food safe oil (liquid paraffin) for starters.

If you do a search (box above) for mortar and pestle it should turn up several threads where this has been discussed before.
Should give some of the pros and cons of differing woods I would think.

 

[KimG]

I've used Ash in the past and found it OK.

 

[Kalimna]

If you are looking to make a working item, then I would recommend using as tough a wood as you can find. I wouldnt suggest oak on the basis that it is coarse grained (a little like ash in that regard) and anything ground up is likely to get trapped in the pores. Beech I reckon would work nicely. Olive wood would also be an excellent choice, one benefit being that using a finish is not required due to its' natural oilyness (ok, some will suggest that no finish is required anyway). If you are set on UK-sourced timber, then cherry, hornbeam, other fruit woods should work well. I would avoid sycamore as a little soft (again, only an issue if the item is to be used in a kitchen).
I have never made a mortar/pestle, but I do a lot of cooking and am quite familiar with them (I have two wooden, one stone, a large and a teensy porcelain M/P's that have been given/acquired over the years) and know that the things I grind most frequently are hard spices (peppercorns, star anise, coriander etc) hence the suggestion away from softer woods.

Adam

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

I've just started turning a mortar from a bit of crotched cherry. My reasoning being the 2 bits of heartwood may be quite tough for pounding hard spices. The rough turned mortar is currently sitting packed with shavings and wrapped in several sheets of newspaper.
I left the walls around 3/4" thick, which hopefully I will be able to trim to about 1/2" when I go to finish it. I think 1/2" should be fine to give it some weight.

 

[blademansw]

Have a read of this http://www.fefpeb.org/wood-food/properties-of-wood/antibacterial-effect

As you are planning on making a food preparation item, it would be wise to select a hardwood with good antibacterial properties IMO. (I used to work in retail in a food environment)

 

[woodyturner]

That is very useful information thank you for posting it

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I tend to use fairly hard spices, and I can't see the point of a wooden pestle and mortar, knowing the punishment my stone one gets. No help, I'm afraid, other than to say use the hardest thing you can get your hands on.

 

[AndyT]

Funny you should ask. I am currently reading "The Craftsman in Wood" by Edward Pinto (the famous treen collector). Writing about lignum vitae, he says that it became the most favoured wood, for ceremonial drinking vessels and for mortars and pestles. It wasn't just for the hardness of the wood, but because it was believed that the lignum vitae would lend its special properties to whatever was being drunk, or ground up.

What special properties were they?

Curing venereal diseases! If you didn't have a magical mortar, you could swallow some of the sawdust, mixed with water to make a sort of porridge! Mmmm!!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Funny you should ask. I am currently reading "The Craftsman in Wood" by Edward Pinto (the famous treen collector). Writing about lignum vitae, he says that it became the most favoured wood, for ceremonial drinking vessels and for mortars and pestles. It wasn't just for the hardness of the wood, but because it was believed that the lignum vitae would lend its special properties to whatever was being drunk, or ground up.

What special properties were they?

Curing venereal diseases! If you didn't have a magical mortar, you could swallow some of the sawdust, mixed with water to make a sort of porridge! Mmmm!!

Hence "wood of life".

 

[Nozzle]

Tahnkyou for the replies guys!

reply to Andy: funnily enough i did have a log of lignum vitae it was abut 10 inch diameter and stood dead straight at 2ft BUT i have just cut it all up for bowl blanks and mallets etc. and then sods law i get a job requiring a very hard and dense timber!

now also is it best to turn this out of a bowl blank or to turn it out of a cube, so using the end grain for the base of the mortar?