metal peel gauge/thickness

[kebwi]

If one were inclined to make one's own peels, what thickness of metal should be used? Does it depend on whether it is aluminum or steel? Is it thin enough that it can be made with (perhaps heavy-duty) cutting tools, but no welding?

[scottz]

Hi,
My peel is ally and is fairly thin and flexable. A friend on mine made a peel out of a stop sign and he says it works for him, but I think it might be a bit thick. I would say somewhere around the thickness of possibily 2 or 3 sheets of paper. I have a metal pole attached, but I think a wooden one would be a bit better because mine can get warmish when we are cooking alot of pizzas.

Hope this helps

Scott

[Les]

I made all of mine out of 16 gauge aluminum - easy to fabricate and they work great.

Les...

[kebwi]

Great. Thanks. I'll take all of that under advisement when I look for sheet aluminum.

I guess one question is, can aluminum at the requisite thickness (16 gauge) be cut with sheers? Can I assume the welding isn't a requirement to cut a piece of aluminum to make a pizza peel?

[Les]

I used a jigsaw, then a file to deburr

[Wiley]

Both the blades of my metal peels are made from aluminum and are both about 1/10 of an inch (they mic out at .103 inches). The aluminum came from the late Boeing Surplus store. The alloy is 2418T8 which being of the 20 series is unweldable but very stiff and harder when compared to more easily available 6061T6. I tapered the leading edge which seems to work well. They were cut using a saber saw and shaped and dressed with a file. Here's an old photo taken back before there I had insulation on my WFO (which can be seen under a tarp in the background):

Hope this helps,
Wiley

[heliman]

I have 4 peels of various descriptions and bought the most recent stainless steel one for $30 so they are pretty cheap to buy. The one I use most has an aluminium head of about 220 mm which is pretty menouverable and good for turning etc. I have another full stainless one with a head of about 30 cm - thickness around 1 mm which I haven't used. Given the cheap price that you pay for them, it's probably worth considering buying one as it is something that you will use for years to come.

Will post some pics when I get home so you can see the different shapes/handle lengths etc.

Rossco

[heliman]

Some pics of my peels ... the small wooden handled one gets the most use!

Rossco

[backinoz]

I made my set out of 0.9mm stainless. I cut the shapes out with a good set of tin snips and a bit of muscle and patients and finished edges off with a file. My first attempts were overly complicated trying to make a shovel arrangement but ended up with just doing flat plates inserted into a 38mm piece of dowl and secured with screws.
0.9mm stainless is strong enough not to flex.

[david s]

I also made mine from 0.9mm stainless. Also a good idea to file off the square edge at the front so it will slide more easily under a soft base.