Making a Burger spatula

[--Tom--]

With summer approaching and smash burgers being all the rage, I was asked to make another burger spatula, so thought I’d post some pics of the making process


Outline sketched

Blade tension set with a lucky find on eBay of a Starrett tension gauge

and speed set using the pulleys round the back

With everything set the cutting could progress

nice and controllable so could get close to the lines

then a quick tidy up with a file

and into the unsophisticated bending jig of a bigger vice ready to be tapped into shape

the jaws of the vice lining up with the point of the bend and the square helping to make sure the bend is perpendicular

Where the tapping isn’t the quietest process that step will be saved for when I get workshop time next at a sociable hour.

 

[Richard_C]

Stainless steel or?

 

[--Tom--]

Stainless steel or?

Yeah 310 stainless. Would be fun to do one from Ti but would be inordinately expensive unless I get lucky with an eBay offcut

 

[--Tom--]

Bit more progress in the odd 30min gaps over the weekend. Started the bending progress

First bend added

Split a block of wood from the box of random pieces accrued over the years

Quick skim with a plane to smooth off, seems like a rosewood of some description.
Will be adding some g10 lines so cut them to size and then glued up with epoxy and lots of clamps

Once dried holes drilled for handle bolts and a quick dry fit

Then shaped the front of the handle as can’t be finished once glued up

Some work on the blade to add bevels to slide under burgers, and a dirty satin finish added with a random orbit

Ready for glue up now, will hopefully get some time in the week to continue

If all goes well just glue up and handle shaping to go

 

[Inspector]

Looks good but I would have preferred the handle to be longer. I like the hair on my knuckles to stay long and not have that singed look.

Pete