The upcoming August 25 club meeting will feature a show and tell of the results of a club-wide mortar & pestle challenge. Since we are meeting via Zoom, many members have sent photos of their creations in advance to be posted.
Rick Wortman
The pestle has a flat end for smashing and a round end for grinding. The bottom of the mortar is flat and where the walls and bottom meet is rounded for the two different uses. It was shown in an old AAW magazine and is available on AAW website. The wood is Hickory.
Carl Beaulieu
This is a prototype walnut turning for an olive wood mortar and pestle to be turned for the kitchen grinding of middle eastern spices. It took three attempts to turn the cross grain mortar bowl. I gained a much better understanding of cutting across the grain and allowing fibers to support the cutting process in my three attempts to make the prototype project. A lot of practice still required. Now I will rough cut a 4×4 piece of Olive wood and test wetness before finishing bowl cuts. I hope the wood will be dry enough for bowls to be finish finished by Christmas. I did enjoy the challenge of my first deep and narrow bowl attempts. Prototype Pestle is 7 by 1 1/4 inches of Maple and mortar is 3 x 3 inches of walnut.
Scott Hendricks
Mortar is cherry burl. The pestle is butternut.
Fred Guendel
Mortar is made of walnut and the pestle of maple. I turned the mortar with a lip, that I then carved away except for the part that I shaped into a spout that allows ground spices and grains to be accurately poured from it.
Jim Matthews
Mortar and pestle are made with oak.
Seth Riehl
Wood: Cherry
Finish: Watco Danish Oil
Mike Peacock
Mortar is walnut finished with Watco Danish Oil and buffed with Beall system (Tripoli, White Diamond, Carnauba waxes). Pestle is zebrawood finished with Beall wax/buff.
Water Gap Woodturners 