wood type

[Dragon]

What would be the best wood to use for a trivet or hot plate?
Diane

[dale]

Im waiting for the reply to your question also.. I would think it would need to be a hardwood.
but I dont know so i am waiting too
dale

[gmackay]

I have made quite a few trivets out of poplar mainly because I use 3/4" thick stock. If you use a harder wood like maple or oak you will have a harder time cutting these denser woods in the 3/4" thickness. I also don't put a finish on my trivets as I am not sure what a "HOT" pan would do to some finishes and if the trivet gets too soiled you can always sand to a new surface.

[CanadianScroller]

gmackay offers some great advice.

That makes the most sense of all of the trivet trivia we have had on here.

Thanks for posting

[workin for wood]

How about using ebony? it has natural oils..creates it's own finish, and it's black so it won't show any burn marks, other than the ones in your wallet.

but seriously..I wouldn't know what would is best...I'd think you could use any wood you wanted and just leave it unfinished like said previously. that sounded like a good idea to me. I would recommend some little rubber feet to put under the trivet though to allow air flow under the wood while in use or not...heat causes moisture and also dries out wood at the same time, so you want to try and keep air flow on both sides, similar to a cutting board. If you don't have feet on a cutting board and it gets wet then sits on a counter it'll warp and crack to pieces.

[Steviegwood]

I have some cut from 3/4" redoak with felt pads on the bottom unfinished except that I did coat it with a natural stain. It takes a long time before it discolors from heat. As said before I just sand it off re-coat with stain let it dry and done. Steve

[Dragon]

Thanks all for the info. Didn't know that it was better unfinished. I will try that and I have little feet around for other crafts.
Diane

[MikeDingas]

I've made two out of 3/4" red oak (their in my gallery). I finished them with BLO. They are used daily and have placed hot pans directly on them without marring. I, too, put felt feet on them. I'm told you should only clean them using water.