Upgrading the Traditional Pasta Board and Rolling Pin

I've wanted a great big rock maple pasta board and a long pasta rolling pin ever since I learned about the ultra-premium pasta that can only be produced by them. I had thought that my hand-cranked pasta rolling machine was the perfect way to make delicate pasta, but I was wrong. Dead wrong.

It all comes down to the way the proteins come together. Tons per square inch of pressure is generated between the closest contact surfaces (essentially thin lines) of fixed-position pasta rollers, and all that pressure forces the proteins in pasta flour to smash and squeeze together, quickly flowing out of the way of the continuous incoming slug of pasta where it smashes and squeezes some more. Then it's fold-and-squeeze again, and again, and again.

Now consider the gentle pressure of rolling pin against board combined with the gentle massaging between hand and pin from side to side with each successive rolling. Once you do this a few times you realize that the movement of rolling between board and pin is completely cooperative with massaging from side to side: the two work perpendicularly to each other. Two gentle motions working together.

You can see the process starting at 2:10:

(She doesn't hydrate, but hydration is a relatively recent practice, and this lady has obviously been doing this for decades.)

If you think of the proteins as dancers, imagine the pasta machine to be 80's punk rock smash dancing, where any given dancer randomly crashes violently into any other dancer who happens to be in his path.

With board and pin, the proteins dance the Tango, gracefully intertwining each other, embracing with consent and mutual purpose.

And, as with a kiss at the end of a lustful Tango, your mouth can feel the difference such cooperation can make. Pasta that is made from top quality ingredients, properly kneaded, and given sufficient time to hydrate anaerobically has the most delicate mouth feel when it is finished by board and pin.

They arrive

My awe-inspiring 3' x 2' maple pasta board came from Kentucky Cutting Boards (they call it an "Italian Pastry Board," but we all know it's a pasta board).

Then my gorgeous custom-made 3' rock maple pasta rolling pin came from Artisanal Pasta Tools (mine is the "Roundover," but Terry turned me little buttons in the ends, which you'll soon see I used to great effect).

Folks, these are two great pieces of American-made, hand-crafted equipment -- just like the stuff upon which we built this great country of ours back in the day. I can't tell you how good it made me feel to run my fingers over these two fine works of American craftsmanship and feel solid quality in their materials and finish. I really hope these two great companies prosper (Hint! Hint!).

Upgrading for proper storage

I wanted to hang my custom-made rock maple rolling pin by the end so that it wouldn't warp under its own weight on an uneven storage surface. I also wanted to protect its smooth surface from dents and gouges with a strong, lightweight sheath.

My plan was to use a modified pull-apart key ring as the suspension mechanism, and to use the original wound-paper mailing tube as the protective sheath.

It's a pretty strong mechanism. Two ball bearings on the dynamic end of the key ring extend into a groove inside the static end of the key ring, locking the two halves together.

When the shaft is depressed against the spring, a beveled groove on the shaft aligns with the ball bearings, allowing them to retract inside the body of the dynamic end of the key ring.

When the shaft is released, the spring forces the shaft upward and the bevel forces the ball bearings outward.

When fully extended, the ball bearings are solidly locked into the annual groove of the static end of the key ring because the full diameter of the shaft won't let them budge (see the first photo).

This was going to take a bit of work, and as usual the kids (The Amazing Sarah and the Dashing and Debonair Michael) were enthusiastic about helping. They were Marines, as always.

The kids started off the project by removing all the tape and labels from the mailing tube.

We then measured the excess mailing tube length (2") with the pin bottomed-out against the plastic cap and trimmed that off using a hacksaw. Removing the excess tubing enables me to securely sheath the full length of the rolling pin without having to let it go so it can slide down the tube. This also protects the rolling pin in case I accidentally slip while removing the dynamic end of the key ring and the pin falls down the tube and hits the hard floor. Without the excess tubing the fall is a mere 1/8".

We made a working mandrill out of a bamboo and some Gaffer's Tape (you can use duct tape if you don't get your tape from a filmmaker's supply house) that friction-fits inside the mouth of the static end of the key ring.

I used a Dremel cutoff wheel to cross-cut deep adhesion grooves into the exterior of the static side of the key ring. These will help the epoxy make a solid bond between the wood and the metal.

The static end is 0.375" (3/8") in diameter and 0.60" long, so we'll need to drill a 3/8" hole deep enough so that the mouth of the piece lays flush with the end of the rolling pin.

Start by drilling a 3/32" guide hole about 3/4" deep.

Then increase the hole to 1/8", same depth.

Continue widening (but not deepening!) the hole until you get to your 3/8" drill bit.

Finally, drill a 3/8" hole to where the depth gauge is no deeper than 0.60". The drill bit is tapered, so the shoulder will be less than 0.60" deep, and the static end with protrude a bit from the end of the rolling pin.

Use the dynamic end of the key ring to pull out the static end as you fit it to the depth of the hole.

Gradually deepen the hole bit by bit until the mouth of the static end is perfectly flush with the end of the rolling pin.

Mix about a half teaspoon of the epoxy.

With the mandrill securely fit into the mouth of the static end, coat the entire exterior of the static end of the key ring in the epoxy.

Using a twisting motion, mount the static end of the key ring into the hole until it is flush with the end of the rolling pin.

Immediately scrape off the overflow using a stiff piece of card stock, a toothpick, or a similar tool. Wipe off any traces of epoxy using a dry cloth or a paper towel.

Using the shaft of a drill bit or some similar tool, brace the static end of the key ring as you carefully remove the mandrill from the static end with a twisting motion.

Check the annular groove on the interior of static end to ensure it has no epoxy.

Prop the rolling pin vertically with the static end up for four hours. I know the epoxy package says it cures in an hour, but it doesn't reliably.

You really want that epoxy completely dry and non-tacky before you connect the static end of the key ring to the dynamic end.

Gaffer-Tape or duct-tape the cut end of the sheath so the edges don't fray.

Drill a 1/2" hole through one of the mailing tube plastic caps, then affix this cap to the end of the mailing tube using gaffer's tape or duct tape.

Secure the rolling pin into the sheath by connecting the dynamic end to the static end through the hole in the plastic cap.

Now you can hang the rolling pin anywhere you like.

What's more, the key ring holds the rolling pin securely inside the sheath.

I assembled a steel bracket, a 1/4-20 J hook with hex nut, two 1/4-20 washers, and a 1/4-20 lock nut as shown, with the hook pointing backward, and tightened everything down hard.

Then I went to town with my Dremel tool:

Starting with the metal cutoff wheel, I cut a half-inch off the hook to make it easier to hang the key rings.
I cut the excess bolt length from the J hook.
I cut off the square corners that would jut from the wall so no one would get hurt on them.
Switching to the grinding bit, I rounded all the cuts.
Switching to a small sanding drum, I smoothed the round grinding marks.

A good coating of white Rust-Oleum paint, and they were ready to mount.

I used a laser level to ensure everything was drilled at the same height, and then used plastic anchor bolts made for 3/8" drywall. I used bevel-headed wood screws of approximately the same length as the ones that came with the anchor bolts because the brackets were made for bevel-headed screws.

Then I did everything all over again -- doubled-up, with one at each corner -- to hang my pasta board right next to it.

And there you have it!

It's the perfect companion to the pasta drying trays (you can just see one of them on the left) and the custom pasta drying rack I made that can hang over 100 pounds of pasta (you can just see a bit of it's outer frame on the right). That thing on the bottom right has nothing to do with pasta; it's my 1.5"-thick marble sugar slab.

Revision

I ended up rotating the J hooks 90 degrees to the side rather than pointing them toward the wall. It gives me more distance from the wall, and it's much easier to mount and dismount, and the bracket still protects the hooks from snagging on people if they brush against it.

Notes

The rolling pin needs a good strong sheath because it has a small-diameter (1-3/4"), and anything bumping into it can instantly impinge thousands of pounds per square inch of pressure in a very tiny area, thereby causing a permanent dent in the surface of the rolling pin.

The board, on the other hand, is perfectly planar, so anything bumping into it would have to be pointed and under force to cause any kind of dent. So we don't need any protector for the pasta board.

Now treating my board and pin with mineral oil is a breeze, and I can treat all surfaces at once rather than one side on one day and the other side on the next after flipping (or rolling) it over. I just coat it all over, rub it in, and hang it overnight. Nothing touches either instrument; it just hangs freely with air circulating around all surfaces.

In fact, the only time I hang the rolling pin without its sheath is the 24 hours following a conditioning with mineral oil. Then it's back in the sheath.

Conclusion

Remember that all wooden pasta boards and all wooden rolling pins will warp to some degree or another depending upon a number of factors:

type of wood
temperature
humidity
contact with moisture
usage patterns (one side versus both sides, etc)
storage patterns (unevenly supported horizontally, etc)

By hanging them vertically, you will help reduce warping by removing pathological storage patterns as a potential cause.

I hope you like what I've done here.

I can't speak for them, but I imagine that if you ask Jennifer Adams at Kentucky Cutting Boards and Terry Mirri at Artisanal Pasta Tools to custom-fit something like this for you into your board and pin, respectively, they just might for a reasonable price.