Simple Salt Cellar for Woodworkers

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hijackn

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This was one of my first small woodworking projects and we've fallen in love with it. I'd strongly recommend buying a salt cellar to have by your stovetop (or just using a small dish for salt TBH, if you don't want more "stuff"). Having salt available via pinch or to measure out a teaspoon etc. has been so much nicer than always using a shaker. I chose to separate this box into two compartments, one for finer grain and one for kosher salt. We've loved having something we made ourselves too. Just a suggestion!

 
Dude that's sweet! I just made a tea box for a buddy. Love me a good wood scrap project
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hijackn said:
This was one of my first small woodworking projects and we've fallen in love with it. I'd strongly recommend buying a salt cellar to have by your stovetop (or just using a small dish for salt TBH, if you don't want more "stuff"). Having salt available via pinch or to measure out a teaspoon etc. has been so much nicer than always using a shaker. I chose to separate this box into two compartments, one for finer grain and one for kosher salt. We've loved having something we made ourselves too. Just a suggestion!

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Looks great! I agree that having salt right at hand is essential for cooking.

The next salt milestone is to have a box of Maldon (or other flaky salt) at your table to sprinkle on right before you eat. A sprinkle of Maldon is nothing short of a game changer.
 
MrHiggins said:
Looks great! I agree that having salt right at hand is essential for cooking.

The next salt milestone is to have a box of Maldon (or other flaky salt) at your table to sprinkle on right before you eat. A sprinkle of Maldon is nothing short of a game changer.
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Oh cool I've never had Maldon. Is it a similar texture to kosher salt?
 
Nice work! Did you make a lid to go along with it?

I am working on building out a little shop in the garage of my new place, so hoping to start on some long overdue projects of my own for the kitchen. Something of this sort is at the top of my list as I too have grown tired of always having to grind out salt.
 
I use sooo much Maldon salt at home. Use it to salt pasta water. As an abrasive to scrub cast iron. My wife just talked me out of using it on an icy spot on the sidewalk. On longer fasts I snack on it a pinch at a time.
 
Chuckles said:
I use sooo much Maldon salt at home. Use it to salt pasta water. As an abrasive to scrub cast iron. My wife just talked me out of using it on an icy spot on the sidewalk. On longer fasts I snack on it a pinch at a time.
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I know the feeling. I'm not quite to your level, but I use it on so much. it doesn't help that my salt cellar filled with Maldon is the easiest one I have to use. I ended up buying the 3lb bucket from Amazon awhile back...no regrets.
 
MikeO said:
Nice work! Did you make a lid to go along with it?

I am working on building out a little shop in the garage of my new place, so hoping to start on some long overdue projects of my own for the kitchen. Something of this sort is at the top of my list as I too have grown tired of always having to grind out salt.
Click to expand...

I originally was thinking the same thing that I would make a lid for it but I actually have never wanted one since we made it several months ago. I think a lid would just end up being inconvenient at least for us, since we'd be taking it off constantly and the salt doesn't really need protection from anything where we have it right now. What sort of setup are you planning in your shop?
 
Chuckles said:
I use sooo much Maldon salt at home. Use it to salt pasta water. As an abrasive to scrub cast iron. My wife just talked me out of using it on an icy spot on the sidewalk. On longer fasts I snack on it a pinch at a time.
Click to expand...

Why do you like it better than, say, kosher salt?
 
Chuckles said:
I use sooo much Maldon salt at home. Use it to salt pasta water. As an abrasive to scrub cast iron. My wife just talked me out of using it on an icy spot on the sidewalk. On longer fasts I snack on it a pinch at a time.
Click to expand...

My 5 year old daughter won't let us forget putting Maldon on the table, and it's her self-appointed job to carry our antique salt dish to the table. She invariably licks her finger and dips it into the salt dish during dinner.

Why is it better than kosher salt? Totally different texture. Kosher salt is cube-shaped crystals, like little rocks. Maldon is flaky, like crunchy snowflakes. See: All about salt: kosher, sea and Maldon

Now I'm hungry.
 
hijackn said:
I originally was thinking the same thing that I would make a lid for it but I actually have never wanted one since we made it several months ago. I think a lid would just end up being inconvenient at least for us, since we'd be taking it off constantly and the salt doesn't really need protection from anything where we have it right now. What sort of setup are you planning in your shop?
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That is understandable regarding the lid. I guess I just think about weekends away or whatever, but I suppose you can always just stow it away.

As for shop setup, I would absolutely love to have all of the essentials. I was living/working overseas for the 3 years prior to Covid, so I sold a lot of my tools and belongings and am having to rebuild.

Currently have: skill saw, jig saw, impact/screw gun, some clamps (need more), 5" RO Sander, and some other odds and ends - hand planers, etc.

Compound miter saw is probably my next purchase followed likely by a long bed jointer and then a 12" planer. I'm back and forth on a table saw, don't really have the proper space here for one. Covid put me out of work for ~7 months which depleted my savings, so I'm having to rebuild slowly.

My other (more likely) option is to hopefully locate a maker space in my area and join that. In which case I can get a miter saw and leave the rest for next year; do the basic work at home and then take my wood to the maker space to finish it. I had joined one when I moved back stateside to Pittsburgh, then Covid hit and I didn't have an income so I didn't build too much.

Do you have a shop at home or where do you do your projects?
 
MrHiggins said:
My 5 year old daughter won't let us forget putting Maldon on the table, and it's her self-appointed job to carry our antique salt dish to the table. She invariably licks her finger and dips it into the salt dish during dinner.

Why is it better than kosher salt? Totally different texture. Kosher salt is cube-shaped crystals, like little rocks. Maldon is flaky, like crunchy snowflakes. See: All about salt: kosher, sea and Maldon

Now I'm hungry.
Click to expand...

Interesting salt article, good looks!
 
MikeO said:
That is understandable regarding the lid. I guess I just think about weekends away or whatever, but I suppose you can always just stow it away.

As for shop setup, I would absolutely love to have all of the essentials. I was living/working overseas for the 3 years prior to Covid, so I sold a lot of my tools and belongings and am having to rebuild.

Currently have: skill saw, jig saw, impact/screw gun, some clamps (need more), 5" RO Sander, and some other odds and ends - hand planers, etc.

Compound miter saw is probably my next purchase followed likely by a long bed jointer and then a 12" planer. I'm back and forth on a table saw, don't really have the proper space here for one. Covid put me out of work for ~7 months which depleted my savings, so I'm having to rebuild slowly.

My other (more likely) option is to hopefully locate a maker space in my area and join that. In which case I can get a miter saw and leave the rest for next year; do the basic work at home and then take my wood to the maker space to finish it. I had joined one when I moved back stateside to Pittsburgh, then Covid hit and I didn't have an income so I didn't build too much.

Do you have a shop at home or where do you do your projects?
Click to expand...

Sounds like you've got all the essentials really haha. Most of our projects are household projects and not really fine woodworking so we've been doing ok using our (small) basement with a skillsaw, sliding miter, jigsaw, and odds/ends (clamps, some crappy hand planes, hand saws, etc.). A jointer would be awesome. I finally picked up an older Jet table saw but it needs an after market riving knife/blade guard and I've been avoiding doing that since they are annoyingly expensive. I don't have much background in woodworking so I've been relying a lot on Stumpy Nubs woodworking on youtube. That's been very helpful for me.
 
hijackn said:
Sounds like you've got all the essentials really haha. Most of our projects are household projects and not really fine woodworking so we've been doing ok using our (small) basement with a skillsaw, sliding miter, jigsaw, and odds/ends (clamps, some crappy hand planes, hand saws, etc.). A jointer would be awesome. I finally picked up an older Jet table saw but it needs an after market riving knife/blade guard and I've been avoiding doing that since they are annoyingly expensive. I don't have much background in woodworking so I've been relying a lot on Stumpy Nubs woodworking on youtube. That's been very helpful for me.
Click to expand...

Right on, the miter and table saw are pretty key for the households tasks. I'll probably just forego all the full purchases for a while if I can find a maker space. But I am happy that you can get a solid planer and jointer for less than $2,000 these days.

Also don't know Stumpy Nubs, I'll check him out. Always nice to have more resources, thanks!
 
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