This patty press appears to be a tricky turning project, but the author has discovered some clever techniques to make this task easier.
Whether it is a summer barbecue or a tailgate party in the fall, you need to convert your masterful hamburger mixture into patties to put on the grill. This patty press will help you create perfectly formed patties that stay together better while grilling and fit nicely on those buns. You can make this press in an evening using materials you probably have lying around in your shop. Find and purchase the PVC pipe that makes the plastic cylinder at a local hardware store or a big box type store. It’s important to get the PVC before you start turning so you can fit the other wooden parts to it.
Selecting the Wood
Choosing a wood species for this patty press is limited by only a couple of considerations. Because it will be used in food preparation, it is better to be safe than sorry. Some people have extreme allergies to nuts. These allergies can actually be life-threatening. Although unlikely, nut woods like walnut, hickory or pecan may transfer some oils that could spark an allergic reaction. I recommend using a close-grained non-nut wood: cherry, maple or even yellow poplar would be good choices. The press you see here was made from alder, another good species choice.
When it comes to finishing the wood for this project, choose a nontoxic, oil-based product like Salad Bowl Finish or even mineral oil. A coat of food-safe paraffin wax will help to seal the wood and keep hamburger from sticking to it. Clean your press with mild soap and hot water after use, and reapply finish if needed. Or, you can leave it without a finish. A curious but important fact to note is that wood has been proven to have a natural resistance to growing bacteria, making it a good material for cutting boards or, in this case, a patty press.
Getting Started
The steps to making your patty press are as follows:
Find and then mark the centers of two 6″ x 6″ x 1-5⁄8″ blanks. Mark the centers on b oth sides. These will become the top and base pieces of your press.
Cut one blank — the base — to a circle about 5-1⁄2″ in diameter. Cut the other — the top — to about 4-1⁄2″ in diameter. If your plastic cylinder pipe has an inner diameter other than 4″, you will have to adjust the blank sizes accordingly.
1. Begin by mounting the blank for your base on the lathe between the centers, using a serrated Stebcenter if possible to avoid damaging the wood.
Mount the base blank between centers (Figure 1). If you use a serrated Stebcenter for the drive and live center, there will be less damage to the surfaces that will need fixing later.
2. Round out the base blank with a bowl gouge, just as if you were starting to turn a bowl.
Using a bowl gouge, rough the blank down to round (Figure 2). Remember, this is not spindle turning. You will need to cut in from the sides just like turning a bowl.
3. Make a dovetail tenon to fit your scroll chuck, then reverse the blank and mount it on the chuck.
Smooth the surface toward the tailstock and make a dovetail tenon (Figure 3) sized to fit in your scroll chuck. Reverse the blank and mount it into your scroll chuck, grasping the dovetail tenon.
4. Once the blank is mounted on the reverse side, turn this side so that flat and smooth.
Move the tailstock out of the way. Turn the face of the blank flat and smooth (Figure 4).
5. Use a calipers to measure out the diameter of your plastic cylinder, then use that measure to draw out a circle on your base blank.
Measure the inside diameter of your plastic cylinder (Figure 5) using a pair of dividers. Transfer this measurement onto the face of the base blank, marking it. This circle should be exactly the same diameter as the inside of your PVC cylinder.
6. Cut a tenon slightly larger than the marked tenon from the plastic cylinder in from the edge of the blank.
Cutting in from the edge of the blank, form a tenon slightly larger than the marked circle (Figure 6). The height of the tenon should be about 1/4″. Leave the side of the tenon very slightly tapered.
7. Continue cutting down the tenon until the plastic cylinder fits down tightly onto the base.
By trial and error, carefully reduce the diameter of the tenon until the cylinder fits tightly onto the tenon (Figure 7). In effect, you are using the base as a jam chuck to mount the cylinder for shaping. The tenon must fit tightly in order to securely hold the cylinder.
Note: a jam chuck is a piece of wood attached to a faceplate. The wood is machined to allow a friction fit on another piece of wood (or, in this case, the PVC cylinder) that will hold the workpiece tightly enough to turn. You “jam” the workpiece into or onto the wooden chuck — hence, the term, jam chuck.
If you overshoot the mark and make your tenon just a little too small, place one or two layers of paper towel over the tenon and then mount (jam) the cylinder onto the tenon.
8. Scrape a cove into the side of the cylinder so you will have a finger grip to use once you’ve finished.
Now that the cylinder is held securely by the base, use a scraper to smooth and round over the exposed end. Reverse the cylinder and reduce its height to about 1-1⁄4″. Shape the exposed end as you did before. Scrape a small cove into the side of the cylinder so it will be easier to handle when in use (Figure 8); the cove acts as finger grip.
9. Make whatever design you’d like to the outside of the base, and then begin sanding it down.
Next, remove the cylinder and trim the tenon on the base to achieve just a light friction fit when the cylinder is placed over it. Shape the outside edge of the base as desired (Figure 9). Sand the base up to 320-grit, then set the base and cylinder aside for now.
