trivet

[monaa]

I am thinking of making some trivets (put hot dishes on) any recommendations on wood and finish??

[spirithorse]

Greetings,
I did a lot of reading on the web and the consensus seems to be that a hardwood with
no finish is the best.
A wood called IPE has a fire rating on it also. (I have never heard of that wood but, just
wanted to let you know it was mentioned in my search).

Another point many people brought up in their discussions were thickness of the
trivet to keep the heat from damaging the table beneath if set directly on your dining table.

yet another topic was to insure the melting temperature of glue if you intend to
glue up segments for a trivet like a glued up cutting board.

Good luck and God Bless! Spirithorse

[DWSudekum]

I am thinking of making some trivets (put hot dishes on) any recommendations on wood and finish??

Since most dishes you are going to be putting on a trivet will be hot enough to melt plastics, at least soften them I personally would shy away from external finishes.  Finishes like Shellac, Lacquer, Polyurethane, Varnish would not stand up well to the heat, on the other hand a hardening oil such as Tung Oil or Boiled Linseed Oil ( BLO ) since it soaks into the wood and seals it would be much less prone to  heat damage I would think.   As for the wood a good hardwood with a color and grain that you like would be good.  I have seen trivets made in Maple, Oak, Mahogany, Sapele, Ash and many others as well.  The choice would be yours of course but i would use a hardwood.

DW

[Kepy]

I have made quite a few trivets over the years.  Almost always in hardwood although did do a few in aromatic cedar.  For a finish, I dipped them in mineral oil, then let them drip dry.  When completely dry, I buffed them with a brown paper bag to give them a sheen.  I have one on my table that has been in use for over 10 yrs with no problem.  I found out however, that the ones I gifted tend to get hung on the wall rather than used.

[Spartan scroller]

I have cut some from Corian. They have been very popular at craft shows. Some have told me that Corian can scorch under enough heat but it also sands off. As for heat damaging table underneath, I haven't had any problems with the ones I have made and used at home. Any body else cut trivets from Corian? Be interested to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Regards,
Terry

[pddesertrat]

Monaa, looks like you have some good answers.  I just wanted to welcome you to the forum.

[monaa]

Thank you all so much, my thoughts were to simply oil the project.  I am leaning toward using 1x walnut. Again thank you

[dottyblues]

Should one put "feet" on the trivet so the heat can vent under and not let it be concentrated in between the cuts?

[Dan26]

I made one a few years ago and put little rubber feet on it. I mainly did it to keep it from marring the wall where it hangs. The feet are still on it an we use it frequently.

[EIEIO]

I recently made a 16" diameter wedding cake base for my wife and used (6) wooden drawer pulls as feet. They were cheap (100 for $9) and make a good spacing to get your fingers underneath to pick up a heavy cake. The pulls I used take a Kreg washer head screw so they are easy to connect. Small ones would make nice trivet feet. Here's a (link to) a photo of the bottom of the base.

The pulls are from here: http://www.craftparts.com/sale-114-wood-drawer-pulls-p-2059.html