Barbecue handle

[larry cronkite]

I need to turn a new handle for my barbecue lid.
What wood stands up best to heat?

[Kurt Aebi]

IPE would be one that stands up very well against fire - My first thoufht anyhow.

[Patrick Doody]

well they make smoking pipes from maple so I would guess that would be suitable.

[Edward Bartimmo]

If the characteristics of the wood that you want for BBQ handles include: durable and dense, decay resistant, crack resistant / non brittle over time, fire resistant, readily available and reasonably priced, nice eye appeal, and pleasant to turn the I would strongly recommend Mesquite.

Mesquite is a slow growing wood that is relatively dense and has a nice level of oil in the wood. The combination makes a wood that is easily worked, doesn't crack or dry out over time, resilient to decay, not readily burnable, and has a wonderful finish. As to decay...the oil in the wood protects it from decay, reduces amount of drying out, and makes it much more difficult to burn. You will want to use heartwood which is reddish rust color and is predominant in any given piece. The sapwood (white or yellow layer that is at most 1" thick in any piece) is only part of tree that really decays.

The density of the wood and oils within also cause Mesquite to not burn easily. In fact it smulders at best and is why it is one of the favored BBQ wood to smoke, whereas pecan, hickory, maple, cherry, etc all readily burn and put off a lot of heat. Mesquite will not simply light by holding a lit match to it... So I would qualify it as extremely heat resistant.

Take a look at the "pig tail flipper" tool that Craftsupply sells...fun to turn a handle for and great to use for flipping steaks and chicken on the grill
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Projects___Kitchenware_p_2?Args=

PS - I have advocated Mesquite in other threads...and I would like to caveat that I am not a Mequite diehard. In fact most of my turnings have been in Maple, Pecan/Hickory, and exotics. There are some undeniable characteristics that Mesquite lends itself toward. My secret wood love affair is Mulberry...and perhaps Madrone. Admittedly, I have been known to have eyed other woods with long grain and sultry burls.

[John Hart]

Any kind of burl from any kind of hard wood would be my choice.

Deer Antler would work pretty good too.....course then...it might smell like burning hair. Ummm......Which is a fairly typical smell at my barbeques, when I think about it. :rolleyes:

[Derek Noel]

Hickory.
If it doesn't stand up to the heat, at least its smoke will smell good.:D

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have made them out of maple, cherry, mesquite, oak and walnut. All have held up well.

[David E Keller]

How about balsa? Grill lids are heavy enough without heavy handles!:D

[charlie knighton]

try dogwood, i believe that they are having dogwood die out in georgia

[David Hullum]

Redwood or cedar :D

[Tom Baugues]

Larry, I just replaced my 15 year old gas grill with a new one. Before setting it out for trash pick up I removed the wooden handle on it. I put it on my lathe and sanded it down and found a very nice hard maple handle. I will now use it as a handle for a new turning tool. Looks like new.

Tom

[Rich Stewart]

Lose some eyebrows occasionally, Jon?

[John Hart]

Lose some eyebrows occasionally, Jon?

Eyebrows....Arm hair....mustache....earlobes.......I think I should stop using gasoline.

But it works so fast!!!!:)

[Rich Stewart]

I actually know a funny story about a guy that was burning debris on his farm...sent a neighborhood kid for some diesel, but they were out.