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Pasta Fork
Most of us have already discovered that transferring pasta from the pot to the plate with a spoon (or even a cooking fork or pair of tongs) is a risky proposition, at best. Just when you think you’ve got a grip, you discover that you don’t.
As with the Measure, start by making a stiff cardboard (or hardboard) template of the fork pattern as drawn in the Pasta Fork Template. Using the Pasta Fork Peg Template, drill 1/16-inch diameter center-marking holes at each of the 11 hole locations on your template.
There are two ways to make the fork. The first (and most efficient) is to start with a 5/4-inch thick piece of stock, drill all the holes, cut the outside shape, drum-sand them smooth, then resaw your stock to the 1/2-inch thickness before gluing dowels of a contrasting color into the 10 peg holes and sanding the pegs flush on the back side.
The second way is to cut your blanks to shape, drum sand them smooth, resaw them to thickness, then drill the peg holes in the business end of the forks to a depth of 1/4-inch so your dowels aren’t visible on the back side.
Once you’ve chosen your approach and have completed the drilling, cutting-to-shape, sanding and resawing steps, use your Shopsmith Router Package with the 1/4-inch Router Chuck and a bearing pilot, 1/4” round-over Router Bit to round-over all edges.
For the pegs, we suggest 1-1/2-inch long pieces, cut from a 1/4-inch dowel rod on the first (through) version -- or 1-1/4-inch long pieces for the second version where the pegs don’t go all the way through. In both cases, be sure to use a waterproof glue. Finishing
We recommend that you use a non-toxic Salad Bowl Finish or other non-toxic finish of your choice for this project.
Pricing
When made out of domestic hardwoods such as cherry, oak or maple, the measure and fork should bring between $15 and $20 as a pair and the cooling rack $15 to $20 by itself! Make them out of more exotic woods and they’ll bring even more. In fact, why not offer a variety? |
