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This is a pizza peel that I just finally got around to finishing this week. I started on the project months ago for my wife and she was very patient on me getting it done. It took a lot longer than expected, but my first pizza peel is finally under my belt.

This is slightly larger than most store-bought pizza peels. I wanted to make sure we were never restricted to using this. It was made to be used for pizzas, but may also get used for making bread too. I made this to fit in our tight kitchen. Our refrigerator is in front of our oven, so I couldn't make the handle too long.

Wood: Walnut, Maple, and Quartersawn Cherry.
Joinery: all glue, Titebond III.
Sanding: 80-120-150-220, then 320 on end-grain areas only, including front lip area to avoid over-darkening with the mineral oil.
Finish: 7-coats of mineral oil, with 3-coats on the first day, then 1-coat a day after that. Will apply more as need-be.

Measurements:
Width: 16-1/16"
Length: 30-17/32"
Thickness: 1/2" throughout
Handle Width: 1-5/32" (if making this again, I think I'd make the handle about 1/8" wider than I did)
Handle Length: around 13"... it depends on where you measure, according to the curve
Walnut Width: 1-15/16" (times 3-pieces)
Maple Width: 19/64" (times 4-pieces)
Quartersawn Cherry Width: 4-17/32" (times 2-pieces)
Bevel on top surface: about 1-1/4"-deep, 19/64"-tall
Bevel on underside: about 1/2"-deep, 5/32"-tall
Girdle (front edge): varies slightly, around 3/64"
Weight: 46.8-ounces, or just under 3-pounds

Gallery

Comments

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Sweet! Nice job. That's the nicest pizza peal I think I have ever seen.
 

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I need to make one of these for the in-laws since we broke theirs playing "whack-a-mole" one night after a few beverages. Nice peel!
 

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I can just see a Papa Murphy's pizza on it! Nice workmanship.
 

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Ready when you are!

Excellent job. Great choice of woods.
 

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Sorry about that. I had no idea the pic would be that big.
 

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Yum! I'm up for a large piece…

Nice wheel.
 

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@Yooper, Thank you for the complement!

@pete69, Don't you think something smaller might work better?! ;-)

Bill, I think a pizza might be in order, if not a peel.

@MasterSergeant, Thank you. If we "make" pizza, we usually pick up the raw crust from a local pizzeria for under $2, then throw on some sauce, cheese, and toppings.

@489tad, Our pizza stone doesn't look that broken-in yet. We've only used it twice, but I'm sure this new peel will help. Thanks!

@Jack, Our oven isn't big enough for really large slices, but you could have a double! :)
There is a local pizzeria that makes a 30"-Pizza. I have not yet seen one, but did see a 24" go into the oven. That is impressive, let me tell you, especially when he's hand-tossing the dough!
 

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Guess I forgot to add that all sharp edges were carefully routered freehand with a round over bit, except for the front edge. Balancing the new 3.25HP Triton on that skinny handle was fun, especially since it was my first time using it.
 

· In Loving Memory
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Very nice work Jonathan and I'll bet the wife loves it too.
 

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Thanks Mike.

If we do end up actually using this one, I think I'll honestly wince a little bit the first time it goes scraping across the pizza stone. Oh well.
 

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Jonathan,
Great Pizza Peel, I love the colors and design. I was wondering what you ended up using for the angle on the front of the peel. Was is just simply running a belt sander over the front?

Thanks,

Darryl
 

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Darryl,

Thank you for the kind words!

To answer your question, yes, I used a belt sander for most of the shaping along the front edge, followed by my ROS through several grits once I got it close to where I wanted. The belt sander basically "hogged off" most of the edge, then I used the ROS to fine tune it, then hand sanded the last little bit to get it just where I wanted it. Probably overkill, especially now that it's going to get some use, rather than hanging on a wall, but I wasn't sure at the time I made it if it was going to get used, or not. I would classify the edge that I put on it as a "display edge," as well as all the extra sanding that probably wasn't necessary for a functional piece that's going to definitely see usage.

After I had the curvature figured out and cut, I knew I wanted a more gradual angle on the top to make it easier to slide the pizza on and off without a sudden drop, so I measured in 1-1/4" and copied the curved edge so that I had an identical line. I also did the same thing on the bottom, but wanted the underside to be a sharper curve for the original scoop under the very edge of the pizza. If you look closely at the side shots, you can see that I didn't divide the 1/2"-thickness evenly between the top and bottom curves, and it was on purpose. If you think about the motion of unloading and scooping up a pizza, you'll see that the angles I used, etc. make sense. That is why I detailed all of my measurements. Don't know if any of that makes sense, or not? It's sort of hard to explain, without going into great detail, which is why I said to think about the motion of actually using the peel. If you can visualize that, it will hopefully make sense. Let me know if you need further clarification.
 

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Thanks! That explanation is great but I am not sure what ROS is, can you elaborate? My friend asked me to make him one so I started looking at pics and came across yours which is one of my favorites. I just got into woodworking about 7 months ago so I still have quite a bit to learn.
 

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Darryl,

ROS is an acronym for Random Orbit/Orbital Sander. I'm relatively new to this as well, only having been at woodworking for less than 2-years myself. I am just beginning to learn about woodworking and hope to continue to grow my skills, education, and overall understanding of the myriad processes and techniques involved in the vast arena of woodworking.

Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions I may be able to answer… at least in regards to the pizza peel!
 

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Ah yes! Random Orbital Sander would make sense!!! LOL! That's cool that you just got into it as well, I really love it and hope to continue to hone my skills as well! I just picked up my first real table saw last week so that has been a big improvement so far…
 

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Thank you for the measurements! I'll be tackling a project like this soon, my wife and I love to make homemade pizza's. I'll be using some extra pieces of the Bubinga, Canary, Curly Maple I started cutting to make my electric guitar (needless to say the Pizza Peel will be done much before my guitar)....
 

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JR_Dog, Looking forward to seeing your pizza peel, as well as the guitar. Sounds like they're going to be pretty!
 
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