How to Make Wooden Salad Tongs
Salad tongs help you toss and serve a dinner salad with ease. The tong design makes what would otherwise be two utensils into one, freeing up your other hand to hold and adjust the bowl. If you want make your own wooden salad tongs, choose a hardwood, such as maple, for a durable custom kitchen accessory. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Paper
- Pencil
- Scissors
- 1-inch-thick wood plank
- Band saw
- 60-grit sandpaper
- 120-grit sandpaper
- Sander
- Drill
- Linseed oil
- Towel
- Bolt
- 2 washers
- Nut
Instructions
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1
Draw out the shape you want for the tongs. You might use two basic rectangular shapes or create "spork"-style tongs with added surface area for grabbing salad ingredients. Don't forget to draw the template for the third dimension of the tongs, the depth of the spork or tong side.
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2
Cut the paper template out and tape it to your wood plank. Tape the depth template along the 1-inch side of the plank.
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3
Position the plank so the edge is flat on the band saw base. Turn the saw on and cut the wood along the pattern edge, being careful to keep the plank flat on the base as you move it.
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4
Cut the primary spork or tong shape taped on the top of the plank. Cut a second component that is identical to the first.
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5
Sand the pieces with 60-grit sandpaper. Make the edges smooth and even, and create a mild recess in the center of the tong surface-grabbing area.
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6
Lay both pieces flat. Compare the non-food grabbing ends on both, making sure they are the same width; adjust if necessary. Use a pencil to mark where notches will be cut out. The notches will become a component of the hinge making the tongs one movable unit. If both ends are the same width, draw two 1-inch-long pencil marks dividing the ends into thirds. A full inch gives the tong enough mobility to open and close.
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7
Cut the notches out with the saw. For tong piece A, remove the edges outside of the pencil lines, keeping a 1-inch-long notch in the center resembling a "I" extending from the end.. For tong piece B, cut out the notch between the lines, keeping two 1-inch-long pieces on the outside resembling a "U" with right-angle bottom corners. Like a puzzle, piece A’s "I" should slide in between the notches on piece B's "U" shape.
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8
Slide the two pieces together. Lay the tongs on their edges. Drill a hole down through the three notches.
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9
Sand both pieces with 120-grit sandpaper to remove all splinters and even out the surface area.
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10
Finish the wood with a food-safe stain or finish. Linseed oil gives a nice color and is easily applied with a towel, rubbing it all over the wood; it also is an acceptable additive to foods recognized by the Food and Drug Administration.
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Place a washer on the bolt and thread it through all three pieces of notched wood, with the two wood tong pieces facing each other. Place a washer on the other end and secure it with the bolt, making sure the tongs can still swing up and down.
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References
Resources
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