# Wooden Coffee Cup



## leonmcd (Jul 12, 2007)

I got this crazy idea to make a wooden coffee cup and ACTUALLY USE IT FOR *HOT* COFFEE.

Did an Internet search but didn't come up with much.

Any ideas on what wood to use? (Something non-toxic that doesn't move much)

How to seal it? (Mineral Oil, Epoxy?)

If I don't seal it, will it …

leak/seep
make the coffee taste bad
kill me over time


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## Thuan (Dec 12, 2007)

I'm sure the Asian wooden lacquered bowls can be used for coffee,
try this link.
http://www.justhungry.com/2006/09/misosoupwrapupandchoosing.html


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## Toolz (Feb 26, 2008)

Mountain men, colonial settlers and other frontiersmen used wooden cups. They were called "noggins" 
http://books.google.com/books?id=K_EMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=wood+cups+or+noggins&source=web&ots=P2zo-ETW5U&sig=-1_-qSo47BtwvMHr03Oj-c3FgKo&hl=en

I made a few of these and sold them to re-enacters. I used acrylic tile sealer on the inside only. I was told that it was a "food safe" finish. I also made leather bottles and lined them inside with the acrylic tile sealer or for those who were purists with brewers pitch.


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## offseid (Jan 16, 2008)

Awesome idea! Please be sure to blog about it and post pictures too!


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## wooddon (Jul 11, 2007)

I think Woodcraft has a stainless steel insert for mugs.


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## sharad (Dec 26, 2007)

A real crazy idea, please check any health hazards in doing it
Sharad


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## bonzo (Jan 18, 2008)

resin infuse any type of wood.


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## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

Can you make me one? I really need my coffee in the morning…I'd need a 3 quart size, please….


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## Ghrrum (Aug 3, 2011)

I make something like this as a hobby. Generally I take the insert out of a travel mug and clad it in wood.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Ghrrum, that first one is Viking, man! If I someone toting one of those at Starbucks, I'd probably be extra polite. These are really great.


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## tyskkvinna (Mar 23, 2010)

I've been considering doing this too and have personally settled on getting a small metal insert for it. But that's mostly so I can be lazy and take the insert out occasionally to dishwasher-blast it.


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

DO NOT USE EPOXY! My Dad used epoxy to fix a tea cup and after it cured for quite a while decided to drink from that cup. It tasted horrible and almost instantly made him nauseous. I suppose there are different kinds of epoxy but I'll never try it ;-)


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## Ghrrum (Aug 3, 2011)

These are actually pretty easy, there is some math involved to get that near perfect continuous look to the wood on the outside, nothing too complex, mostly it's basic x,y,z geometry.
The mugs I work with are pretty cheap too, they are stainless steel inside and sell for 2 for $6 at Big Lots. Pretty much any travel mug that has a lid is a candidate for doing this, if you are like me and don't want to depend upon an adhesive to hold em together I suggest doing a metal band, copper, brass, or bronze, avoid steel as it rusts pretty well.

Here's the math part
you need to find the circumference of the top and bottom of the mug, you do so with the following
circumference = 2 x pi x radius
then you figure out the width of the slats you are going to be working with and divide that by the radius at the top. You can fiddle around with dimensions a bit, but usually I round up and use a bench sander to get them finished into the final width.
so, for the mugs above, lets say that I'm working with a mug that has a diameter of 3.25 inches, that means that the circumference is going to be approx 10.21 inches. (diameter x pi = circumference).
so if the slats I'm working with are .75 inches I come out with about 13.6 slats, so round up to 14 and I'll be using the sander to get everything neat and tight.
same math type stuff for the bottom, so the diameter of the bottom is about 2.75 inches, so the circumference is about 8.63 inches. From here you can figure out the taper you need to get everything nice and neat.
The bevel for the slats is really easy 360/2(number of slats) = angle of the bevel for each side.
So 360/ 2×14 = about 12.9 degrees, so I round up to 13.

That's pretty much all the math side of this done.
Normally I'll fudge the numbers a bit further so I have a void between the insert and the wood and will backfill that with an expanding foam.
You will likely need to bevel the top and bottom of the slats to get them to fit neatly under the bands you are working with (unless you are using an adhesive).

To get everything tight I use hose clamps, I've got several of different sizes and they are by far the best thing I've found for getting these to fit together nicely.

I'm planning on doing a few more this weekend if all goes well. If there is enough interest I'll be happy to journal and post the process.


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## DamnYankee (May 21, 2011)

Ghruum - I'd be interested in seeing them


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## darinS (Jul 20, 2010)

Ghrrum - I'd be interested in seeing this done as well.


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## ncdon (Jul 11, 2010)

Leon, I toyed with this same thing last year. I do segmented turning and wanted a cup I could really use. Thought of all the usual suspects. Acrylics, epoxy etc. Then made a cup that holds regular 8 oz styrafoam cup.
Just taper the inside of your wooden cup to hold the styrafoam snuggly . I leave the bottom of my wooden cups open so you can push the old styrafoam out with no problem. You could probably do the same with any hot drink cup.


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## steviep (Feb 25, 2011)

ncdon, it is always the simple solution I can never think of. Great Idea!


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## Harryn (Apr 25, 2011)

If you like sugar in your coffee, I'd go with sugar maple. LOL


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## ChrisK (Dec 18, 2009)

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=finishing&file=articles_497.shtml

http://www.all-about-renaissance-faires.com/woodmugs.htm#how

Found these two sites that might offer some insight to sealing the cups.

Only for cold drinks thought, the thought is the hot liquid will cause wood to swell then contract.

Might be able to use a light glass cloth to reenforce the inside? Boats built this way last a long time.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Make your wooden coffee cup, get some ground coffee and put it in blender and ground it to powder. put about 1/2 cup of water in the microwave and bring to boil. Slowly pour the powder in the cup and stir. Use the paste to coat your wooden cup and let it dry. Get the excess out and repeat if needed. Now your cup is sealed with coffee. The idea is to never wash the cup which means no milk or cream. Every time you drink a cup of coffee, the coffee will accumulate in the cup and increases the flavor. Use hot bees wax to seal the outside.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Ghrrum, I like to see it too.


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## Ray (Nov 14, 2006)

I am the owner of the website http://www.all-about-renaissance-faires.com/woodmugs.htm#how referenced earlier in this thread.

The reason I recommend only using the mugs for cold beverages is for liability issues only. I personally use one for coffee and it works just fine. I just didn't want anyone ending up with a hot liquid in their lap and the suing me… thus the disclaimer.

2 part epoxy works great but you have to be precise in the measuring of the two parts in order for it to set up properly. That and you MUST apply it at above 70 degrees and keep the container above 70 degrees for at least 4 hours. Otherwise you will end up the a soft finish and you will 'taste' the epoxy.

And I'll add to the list, Ghrrum - I'd be interested in seeing the process as well.


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## WoodNSawdust (Mar 7, 2015)

Ghrrum, I like to see it too.


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## Tony1212 (Aug 26, 2013)

I had thought about doing something like this as well. I was at the local Ren Faire and asked what they used, and was told "plasti-coat" or something very much like it. Supposedly good for hot and cold drinks. It almost looked like Rhino Sealer from the back of a pickup truck. I couldn't find anything named that (or anything similar) online, so I have no idea.

I did find a site called Goodley Woods and dropped them an email asking what they used. They said they used a product called BrewCoat. That was like $200 for 2 gallons (2 part epoxy that is 1 gallon each with a 1:1 mixing ratio) and that was the smallest size you could get! Fine if you're doing a production run of mugs, but prohibitive if you only want to make one.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

I know that I've seen a number of beer mugs on here. I don't know why there wouldn't be coffee mugs unless the heat is a problem.

mugs.helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Lacquer is definitely not up to the job as proven by my experiment last year.


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## konnon6 (Jan 25, 2012)

God you guys are missing the whole point, its making the whole cup out of wood! Wood has some intrusting
properties , it doesn't transfer heat well (good if your coffee is boiling hot!) and it's warm and wonderful to look at the grains and flow of the woods. There is food grade epoxy or I use lacquer (food grade) or even peanut oil
to seal the wood.


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## ste6168 (Mar 12, 2015)

> # kill me over time


Everything will kill you over time. I wouldn't worry much in that department.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

This thread gave me a novel idea I might just try, and am pretty sure it would work. The initial rough cup shape would be turned on the lathe, then used as a form for HDPE. Maybe turn some small grooves on the inside of the cup to give the HDPE something to bite into. Once the cavity is filled with HDPE and hardened, it could then be turned again to hollow out the inside, and do the final shape on the outside. The walls of the cup might wind up being a bit thicker than just wood alone, but I'm sure coffee or any other beverage would not have any adverse effects on it.

Cheers,
Brad


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

HDPE?


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

High Density PolyEthylene.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

A quick search tells me that HDPE can withstand about 230F continuously, LDPE 170F continuously. Not sure about its insulation values.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> A quick search tells me that HDPE can withstand about 230F continuously, LDPE 170F continuously. Not sure about its insulation values.
> - Rick M.


The melting point of HDPE is somewhere between 240-350F. A hot liquid such as coffee, which is typically no hotter than 180F (and more typically around 120-140F), should not be a problem. I just checked some plastic travel mugs I had in the cabinet, and they all appear to be made of either PP or HDPE, so it's apparently not an unusual material for the task. As for it's insulation capability, the outer wood shell would provide most of the insulating capabilities I would think. The HDPE would just be acting as a liner to contain the liquid and prevent it from reaching the wood. As an extra benefit, you could pick-n-choose what color to make it. Just using milk jugs would give an opaque cream/white color, or you could use other colors to contrast with the outer wood shell depending on what species you use. If feeling wild and crazy, you could even go with a mod-squad theme with multiple colors :-O

Cheers,
Brad


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## splatman (Jul 27, 2014)

Just do not use containers that held anything you would not eat or drink, including detergents, paint, soap, shampoo, or anything that ends with -cide. Of course, that limits the choice of colors, but there's still a few. E.g. if you wish for yellow, melt some mustard bottles. Whether that would lead to mustard-flavored coffee, IDK.

Also, be aware that HDPE shrinks as it cools, about 1%. That's 1/10 of an inch over 10 inches. Could be wrong; probably more. If using it as a liner, your best bet is to make a blank, turn it into a liner, and build your mug around that. Turn grooves into the outside of your liner so it can be bonded mechanically. HDPE is, AFAIK, unglueable.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Brad I was supporting your idea, against the inevitable LJ that feels the need to say that it will melt. Splat is right about the shrinking, that is what caused me problems bonding HDPE to wood.


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