Making a Wooden Pizza Peel | Woodworking Project
This was a crazy fun and easy project. I didn’t know how useful a pizza peel was until we had one in the house. We generally cook our pizza right on the oven grill so having a pizza peel available to pull the pizza from the oven is very useful. Plus you can cut the pizza right on the peel and use it as a serving tray. The finish used on this is a food grade mineral oil and paraffin wax. Like any cutting board you’ll need to reapply a finish on it after a handful of uses. We like to keep a bottle of butcher’s block conditioner in our kitchen for quick and easy applications. If you like this tutorial please share it with your friends! Let me know in the comments down below what you think and how you would make yours different! As always, be safe, be passionate and Make Something!
Tools and Supplies Used in This Project
Step 01: Picking Out Wood
I went to my local hardwood dealer and picked out some 1/2″ stock. This will save me time from planing down thicker stock on my planer.
Step 02: Mahogany and Hickory Wood
I found some nice mahogany that I’ll use for the center and hickory for the outer edges.
Step 03: Crosscutting at the Mitersaw
You’ll begin by cross cutting two outside pieces (hickory) to roughly 15″ and one middle piece (mahogany) to roughly 30″
Step 04: Clamp and Glue
Clamp and glue everything together and try to keep all the pieces level and in line. I’m using spring clamps on the joints for proper alignment
Step 05: Draw Large Circle
Next you’ll want to draw a large circle. I’m using a 14.5″ pizza pan from my kitchen.
Step 06: Blend the Lines
Now you’ll draw the handle and blend the lines. The handle width for my pizza peel is 1 3/4″.
Step 07: Pizza Peel Handle
At the end of the handle you’ll draw another circle. I found the base of a spray paint can to be the perfect size. Again you’ll want to blend the circle into the handle lines. The total length of the pizza peel should be about 28″
Step 08: Cut Out the Shape
Now you can take the piece over to the bandsaw and cut out the shape. I like to cut as close to the line as I can without touching it. I’ll then finalize the shape in the next steps.
Step 09: Sand to the Line
You can then take your rough shape over to the disc sander and sand down to the lines.
Step 10: Sand to the Line
For the handle and curves you’ll need to use a spindle sander or sand and file by hand.
Step 11: Beef Up the Handle
To beef up the handle you can thicken it up with another piece of mahogany. Here I’m using a piece that’s 1/4″ thick and tracing the handle onto it.
Step 12: Back to the Bandsaw
And then back over to the bandsaw to cut out the shape. Again you’ll want to cut close to the line without touching it.
Step 13: Shaping the Handle
Next you’ll draw a curve that’ll blend into the main part of the pizza peel.
Step 14: Back to the Bandsaw
And back over to the bandsaw to cut it out.
Step 15: Bevel and Blend
Now you can file down a bevel that’ll blend into the pizza area of the pizza peel. I’m using a Dremel tool to remove the wood. I would suggest not using a router as the corner pieces are too fragile.
Step 16: Glue and Clamp
Next you can clamp and glue the piece to the handle.
Step 17: Sand and Flush
I went to my local hardwood dealer and picked out some 1/2″ stock. This will save me time from planing down thicker stock on my planer.
Step 18: Draw the Wedge
For the front of the pizza peel we want to cut a bevel that’ll allow the pizza peel to easily slide under a pizza. In the photo I’m just free hand drawing where that bevel should end.
Step 19: Create the Bevel
Next you can file or sand away the wood to create a nice front wedge. This was quickly done with a belt sander and some 80 grit sandpaper.
Step 20: Round Over Handle
For the handle I’m using a 3/4″ round over bit in my router table to round over the edges. I’m only rounding over the top (face) of the handle. The bottom of the handle and the pizza area will have a much smaller round over and we’ll use a random orbit sander for that.
Step 21: Drilling the Handle Hole
Next you can drill a 1″ hole in the handle so you can hang and display your pizza peel in the kitchen.
Step 22: Sanding and Blending
Now you can sand everything up to 220 grit. I use the random orbit sander to blend all the curves and round over any edges.
Step 23: Finishing
For a finish I’m using a heavy coat of food grade mineral oil. Once the mineral oil has had time to soak in I’ll then melt some paraffin wax and mix in mineral oil to about a 50/50 mix and apply it to the pizza peel. Once the wax cures you can then buff away a nice protective coat.
