Should I put a finish on this?


MIKWoodworking

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?? I'm a little confused... All I ever use mine for is getting the pizzas / breads in and out of the oven.. They don't ever stay in there :o A little corn meal on the bottom while shaping the dough and adding toppings then on the stone she goes! (yum...) Not sure about the concern of fire and explosion... I honestly don't know that any of my paddes have even gotten warm let alone hot (certainly never burned) :unsure: .... Although I've always heard that a wood fired pizza is delicious!!!

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I am sure they will eventually crack, but almost anything will. I am just worried about fire and explosions. Something that would cause a law suit. Also would the cherry eventually start on fire?

Yes cherry will start on fire...it burns nicely like oak...in a camp fire. :) DUDE!! You're not cooking in a 2000 degree blast furnace and you're not leaving the paddle in there for extended periods...you're just inserting it into the oven for a few seconds...even a brick oven is fine. Go to an old time pizza restaurant that has a brick oven with the fire burning in the back. Their paddles are unfinished. Like Don said, a little corn meal covering makes it slide nicely. No heating needed....no anything....leave it plain if you like...or use mineral oil from the pharmacy (if I've read correctly, HoboMonk is a chemist) or use a salad finish....either way, there will be no explosions...ny the way....NICE PADDLE!!

Now....having said that...are there any problems using exotic woods in a paddle? I'm not planning to make any bubinga forks or purple heart spoons but...could you?

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I've heard that people with nut alergies can have problems with the oils in nut woods, like Walnut and maybe Pecan. I've also heard that exotics have natural anti-rot, anti-fungal, anti-everything properties that can be irritating. This could all be urban legend- it's just stuff I've heard.

For me, I'd be careful about wearing a respirator when making exotic dust, and I wouldn't use a nut-wood in a cutting board, but I'd use an exotic in a cutting board. The exotic might even be safer, because I assume anti-rot also means anti-bacterial. But that's just me - it's not based on any facts or anything.

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Here in the south, people cook huge "chicken bogs" that will often feed 100 people. These guys have dedicated 'paddles' they have made for stirring that is basically a more narrow boat paddle usually made out of oak or sometimes pine. I made one out of ipe once and just when i was finished, the whole toxins thing crossed my mind. [wished i'd thought of that an hour ago] so I called poison control. They looked on their end and said 'no don't use it to stir food'. It does have toxins that could transfer. Now the person at the other end was not familiar with ipe and didn't seem to be sure of his answer but he said to be safe, he wouldn't recommend it. Maybe someone reading here would have some further knowledge. Even if you did not use it for a (i.e.) ladle that would be submerged in the food, it still may be ok to incorporate into a pizza paddle since it's in contact with the crust only briefly (??)

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