Wood Pizza Peel

In this instructable, I show you how to make a DIY Pizza Peel with a long handle using mahogany and walnut wood.

Even if you don't need a pizza peel, these woodworking techniques and tips can be used on other woodworking projects.

There are several things which are difficult to fully explain with words and images, so be sure to check out the video tutorial above. 

Table Saw or Circular Saw

Miter Saw

Clamps

Band Saw or Jig Saw

Wood Glue

Orbital Sander

Disc Sander

Spindle Sander

Drill

Forstner Bit

Food Safe Finish

First, it is important to choose a suitable hardwood for a DIY pizza peel. 

Mahogany and Walnut seemed like a great choice for this DIY pizza peel. Essentially, they are both hardwoods and I had excess in my workshop.

I wanted the pizza peel to have a long handle and be about 14" wide. 

The dimensions I used originated from the look and feel, not from exact dimensions.

I used my table to resaw the wood from 2" to 1", but a bandsaw works best for this task.

Next, I used my table saw with a jig to get a straight side. Using the straight side as reference, I used my miter saw to cut it down to the correct length.

I ran them through my planer. The boards were already fairly flat, so a few passes achieved the desired result.

You can use an orbital sander to complete this step as well.

First, I placed the boards in their appropriate position to make sure they were flush. 

I placed the boards on 2 bar clamps and flipped the pieces of walnut upwards.

Then, I used a glue dispenser to spread an even bead of glue on each piece of walnut.

I slowly applied pressure with my bar clamps until glue seeped out evenly. 

As I mentioned previously, I didn’t use a template for the wood pizza peel. Instead, I used a pizza stone from my smoker. 

I traced it with a double sided pencil. I free-handed the neck of the wood pizza peel while ensuring it was even on both sides. Ultimately, it was important to me to have a long handle.

Spray paint cans are very handy for drawing perfect circles. So, I decided to use one to form the knob.

Using my bandsaw, I cut just outside the lines I drew in the previous step. I jig saw works just as well as a bandsaw.

I used my spindle sander with the wide spindle to sand up to the line around the round part of the pizza peel. I changed the size of the spindle for the round part near the handle.

Then, I used my disc sander to clean up a few marks from the spindle sander.

I sanded the flat top and bottom with my orbital sander.

Keep in mind, this doesn't need to be perfect.

After sanding, I immediately noticed the handle was too thin for my liking. So, I need to make it thicker.

I used another piece of mahogany under my pizza peel and traced the shape of the long handle and knob. Next, I used my bandsaw to cut slightly outside the line just like in a earlier step.

Once the mahogany was cut out, I placed it on top of the pizza peel and sketched the half moon the same circumference as the circle. I cut this out on the bandsaw.

Then, I used wood glue and my wood glue dispenser to spread glue evenly on the piece. I clamped it down with F clamps and let it dry for a few hours.

I used my belt sander to create a smooth transition from the pizza peel long handle to the wood pizza peel. 

Then, I smoothed the edges on the spindle sander with the small spindle

I rounded over the entire pizza peel with a 1/2" roundover bit in my router. You can use an orbital sander to do this if you don't have a router.

An indented lip helps the pizza peel slide under the pizza when removing it from the pizza oven or grill.

I used my pencil to draw a horizontal line across the middle of the pizza peel.

Next, I used one finger as a guide and traced a line about 1" from the edge of the pizza peel. 

This line will start the downward slant to the end of the pizza peel. Then, I used my belt sander to sand from the line to the edge of the pizza peel.

I used my drill press and a forstner bit to drill a hole in the handle. You can use a drill with the same bit if you don't have a drill press.

I used a food safe finish as the top coat for this pizza peel. I applied the finish and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then, I wiped it off with a terry towel. I repeated the same process on the other side.

I hope this instructable provided you with value. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions - I'm happy to help.

Be sure to checkout my YouTube channel and my website for more DIY tutorials.