No 49 Firewood Cherry Platter

[James Combs]

Another in the firewood cherry series. This time a very flat platter that I don't really care for the shape of but the grain is nice.

Stats:
Material = Cherry
Diameter = 8-7/8"
Height = 1.25"
Finish = 2 coats of satin WOP(very wiped)

221192221191221194221193

C&C appreciated.

[Bill Bolen]

What a fine Cherry platter. I too love turning Cherry! Just a quick ??...is the date on the back from last year or do you need to turn the 11 into 12?

[James Combs]

Good catch, I will be moving that up a few months.:o

[Pat Scott]

To me 8-7/8" is a small plate, not a platter. My appetizer/dessert plates that I make are 7-1/2", my dinner plates are 11", and my platters start at 13".

[James Combs]

To me 8-7/8" is a small plate, not a platter. My appetizer/dessert plates that I make are 7-1/2", my dinner plates are 11", and my platters start at 13".

My apologies on the misnaming of "my" turning. I didn't realize there were official specifications for these flat things. :o If you will point me to them I will make sure I get it right next time.;)

[Jim Burr]

When you guys figure out what it is, let me know...I like it!! Not a big fan of gloss JD, but I think this one may benefit from a little twinkle!

[Pat Scott]

You asked for comments and criticisms, I gave a comment is all. I don't know if there are "official specifications", more like general guidelines.

Dinner plates are usually 9" to 11". You can measure the ones in your kitchen to get an idea. Generally speaking, plates are less than 11", platters start at 13" and go up. 12" could go either way - either a large plate or a small platter. I call 12" a large plate. If I have a 12" plate, I keep turning until it's 11.

Restaurants often use 10" plates, 9"-10" are average plate sizes for homes, 7" are salad/appetizer. I have store bought dinner plates that are 9" and 11". The 11" size are a nice size so that's what I try and make mine. 10-1/2" is also a good size dinner plate (after all, it's only 1/2" smaller). If you're making a set, pick a size and try to make them all the same. You'd be surprised how much a plate that is as little as 1/8" off stands out in a stack.

A platter that is 13" to 16" is a nice useable size. I make bigger platters, but we don't use them as often as the smaller sizes. A platter that is 17"-20" takes up a lot of space on a table.

For height, my dinner plates are 1" to 1-1/4" tall depending on the profile. Appetizer plates are 1" or maybe a little less.

The foot should be 65%-85% of the overall diameter for plates, and 60% to 70% for platters. This size base gives stability and prevents tipping, especially for a plate that someone is bearing down with a fork or knife trying to cut food.

I have a simple cove profile on the underneath side of the rim for my plates. This lifts the edge off the table so it's easy for fingers to slip under. If the foot on a plate should be between 65%-85%, I tend to lean towards the smaller diameter which gives me a little more room to shape the cove than say an 85% foot. For the 11" dinner plates in this picture, the foot is 8", which is a little over 70%. I keep my shapes and details to a minimum so the plates are easy to wash and dry.
221451221452221453

[Ted Calver]

Pat, Those are really nice looking plates/platters. Do you use them as chargers? It wouldn't take many meals to mess up a wooden plate through normal knife and fork activity...I'm guessing that's to be expected and the resulting scratches and dings are a badge of courage. Can you post a picture of some that have been used for a while?

[Pat Scott]

Thanks Ted, no platters in those pictures, those are our 11" Silver Maple dinner plates and 7-1/2" Maple dessert plates in the pics. They are not charger plates either, we eat directly off them. Try it! It's a well known fact that anything you eat off of a plate that you make tastes better.

I took a "Signature" week long class with Mike Mahoney at Craft Supplies in 2010. One day we went to Mike's house for lunch - which was a treat in itself. We got a tour of his house, shop, drying room, and ate pizza off of wood plates that he uses every day in his home. Yes they had knife marks in them, but according to him, "so what"?

I'm not concerned about bacteria getting into a knife mark, or a wood plate not being as sanitary as store bought. I make end grain wood cutting boards, and they are actually more sanitary than plastic or glass. Something about the natural properties of wood that bacteria can't survive on, or in, wood like it can other materials. Google [Dean O. Cliver, Ph.D.] to read about the research he did comparing wood vs plastic cutting boards.

In my home we don't use wood dinner plates every day like Mike does (we will someday, as soon as my wife stops giving them away). But we have used the appetizer/dessert plates a lot the past few months, and believe it or not they look exactly like the photos. Washing them hasn't affected the finish yet (one or two coats of 50% thinned Salad Bowl finish), and cutting pie or cake with a fork doesn't mark them like you might think. They still look brand new, not a mark on them. I'm somewhat amazed myself. When used as appetizer plates, typically that means finger food so no utensil marks. Hand wash and dry only, no dishwasher or microwave.

Ever since Mike's class I've wanted to make dinner plates. It's been easy enough for me to get small blanks for dessert plates, but getting enough log blanks that are big enough for dinner plates has taken me a little longer. You want plate or platter stock to come from the center of a tree (start at the pith and go out). The best stock is where the growth rings are quarter sawn or perpendicular. This means that for an 11" plate, you need a log that is more than 22" in diameter (one plate from each side of center, start at the center of the pith and go outwards). This 22" diameter log also assumes that the pith is exactly in the center! And we all know how that goes. The 2nd best place to get platter or plate stock is parallel to the pith, so an 11" plate could be had from a 12"-13" diameter tree after you account for waste and drying. If you go any farther out towards the edge to get plate stock, the wood is not as stable and chances are it won't stay flat - even after you've turned and finished it (speaking from personal experience also).

I got enough dinner plate stock after Mike's class and have had it drying since 2010. I finally got around to turning it last year (late 2011) and made about a dozen dinner plates. Then my wife decided to give most of them away as Christmas presents. By the way, the recipients LOVE them! I immediately had requests for more plates as everyone wants a set of 8, not 4. That left me with only 2 dinner plates which we have just started to use.

We all use wood Salad Bowls, so why not wood plates? Every year we have a family BBQ over Labor Day, this year we'll serve everyone off of plates that I make. I agree with Mike, he says: "As a craftsperson, I think it's a nice touch". Wood plates are stronger than paper plates, you can load up a plate with food and it won't sag under the weight. If you drop it, it will bounce. I need at least 13 appetizer and dinner plates by Labor Day, so I need to get busy making more. And if they get knicked or cut up after years of use? I can always make more.

[Ted Calver]

Pat, Thanks for the very thoughtful response. I'm from the 'so what' camp too. I'll keep my eye out for some large quarter sawn stock and give some plates a try. Thanks again.

[James Combs]

...Dinner plates are usually 9" to 11". You can measure the ones in your kitchen to get an idea. Generally speaking, plates are less than 11", platters start at 13" and go up. 12" could go either way - either a large plate or a small platter. I call 12" a large plate. If I have a 12" plate, I keep turning until it's 11...

Thanks Pat, that is some good information and I will be filling it away for the future. BTW we normally eat on on the salad/appetizer(the LOML calls it a desert plate) plates in our set and we have done so for decades so my perspective is probably off a little.:) Thanks again for the info, I didn't realize there were so many varieties of plates/platters.;)