Using our Chopstick Jig to make your own Chopsticks

Our chopstick-making jig is ingenious in its simplicity, but does require a little bit of practice to get it turning out perfect utensils every time. Here are the steps to producing a chopstick in our jig, as well as a couple of tips or tricks.

1. Our jig accepts timber blanks 8mm tick in both dimensions, and about mm long. There is some adjustability in the locking mechanism to allow for slightly shorter or longer lengths. Many blanks can be produced quickly and easily on a band saw or table saw. If you don't have access to these tools, we now stock blanks in a variety of timbers. Click here to browse our selection. 

2. Once unpacked from the box, the Japanese plane may need some tuning to get it into working condition. This is a quick process requiring simple tools - a hammer, a pencil and a file or sharp chisel, and a great way to learn about your new plane. Click here to view our plane setup page for detailed information.

3. If you own a sharpening stone, feel free to give the blade a touch up before putting it to work. If you don't own any sharpening equipment, not to worry - the edge will be sharp out of the box. Bear in mind that if you're thinking of making a lot of chopsticks, the edge will dull. A 1000/3000 combination stone will allow you many years of use from your plane and any other edged tool. Click here to view it as a single item or here as part of our sharpening kit. 

One you have your blanks and the plane is ready to go, it's time to make some shavings!

4. Take a pencil and number the sides of your first blank from 1 to 4, working around the four sides. Sides 1 and 2 will be worked on the first side of the jig (showing numbers 1-2) and sides 3 and 4 will be worked on the second side of the jig (showing numbers 3-4).

5. Start with the jig's side that read 1-2 facing up. Ensuring the top wedge of the jig is completely open, place the blank in the rail of the jig with the blank's number 1 facing up, and slide the wedge across to bring the locking mechanism into contact with the end of the blank and hold it securely in place.

It is easiest to keep the numbered end of your chopstick at the numbered end of the jig. If you turn the chopstick end-for-end in a subsequent step, the taper will cancel itself out, leaving you with a very nice normal stick instead of a chopstick. 

6. Place the plane at the end of the jig farthest from you with the edge ready to cut on its way back towards you. Placing one hand on top of the plane and one hand at the back, take a slow test cut. 

If the plane does not take any timber off the blank, the blade may need to be gently tapped further in. If the blade jams in the blank, the blade may need to be backed off with gentle taps to the back of the plane. 

Use the first stroke to determine the grain direction on this side of the blank. If the surface is rough, turn the whole jig and take a shaving or two in the opposite direction. A little trial and error should produce a smooth finish on the timber.

7. Once you are confident of planing with the grain, run the plane along the jig repeatedly, taking shaving after shaving. Allow the plane to keep working until no more shavings are produced and the plane bottoms out on the jig. Congratulations! You have finished the first side of your chopstick.

8. Release the wedge, remove the blank, turn it to side two and place it back in the jig, resetting the wedge. Work the second side in the same way as the first, until plane no longer takes shavings.

The first two sides require the most material removal and will take the longest.

9. Remove the blank from the jig and flip the whole jig over to reveal the face that reads "3-4". Reinsert the blank with the number 3 facing up, take a couple of test passes to check for grain direction, and work the blank in the required direction until the plane bottoms out on the jig once more. 

Note: As the blank is now quite thin, placing excessive force on the wedge can force the blank to bend in the jig. This will produce a bent or excessively chopstick. Apply only the necessary force to hold the blank, not compress it.

10. Remove the blank, turn it to the final side 4 and replace in the jig. Check for grain direction, and work the side with plane. Once the plane bottoms out, remove you chopstick, give it a good look and admire your handiwork. Now all it needs is a pair!

The Bridge City Tool Works Chopstick Master: John Economaki sells coals to Newcastle

One might wonder why a Chinese guy, much less a Chinese woodworker, would want a one-trick gizmo to make chopsticks. Especially since I can go to either one of the two Chinese grocery stores that are within ten minutes of my house and buy a set of ten chopsticks for less than two dollars.

The answer is simple. Because the Chopstick Master is. So. Much. Fun.

John Economaki is a fascinating guy. He is best known as the principal behind Bridge City Tool Works, but he’s much more than that. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing him talk at Woodworking in America in the past, and to my surprise what I learned from him was not information about high end tool manufacturing. What I took away from his talks was an invaluable lesson about creativity and design.

This creative streak may have led John to come up with the idea of making a device to make chopsticks to take to a trade show in China. Apparently, this was a bit of a gag. Instead, it seemed to resonate with folks in China and Taiwan. John says, “I hit on something very deep in the Chinese culture. I have never seen so much joy in my entire life.”

A couple of weeks ago, this package arrived.

I’ve never bought anything from Bridge City Tools before, and was not sure what to expect. This is what greeted me upon opening the box.

The last time I saw a box with components for a tool that was this well packed, I was on a mission to assassinate the head of intelligence in Cagliostro. But that’s another story.

The main shaping of the chopsticks is done with the Bridge City HP-8 block plane, which has depth stops mounted on the sides.

The depth stops are set using a gauge built into the Chopstick Master. As it turns out, out of the box, the depth stops were perfect. The manual says that adjustment should be necessary only if the plane is dropped.

The blade is sharp enough to use as is. When the blade needs to be sharpened, you can, of course use your sharpening method of choice. For non-woodworkers, the Chopstick Master comes with a honing guide that is used with a fine abrasive strip mounted on the bottom of the the base unit.

Also included are some chopstick blanks in various species, and sleeves if you want to give them as gifts. You can also make your own blanks. Just take straight-grained wood, and mill it into 7mm square blanks 270mm long.

To make a chopstick, place a blank in the base unit diagonally across the red plate. A pair of wedges helps keep the blank in place.

Then take the plane and plane away the first side of the blank. The plane will stop planing at some point when the plane bottoms out on the depth stops. Repeat on the second side.

For the third and fourth sides, the side knobs are rotated to the “2″ position, and the process is repeated.

At this point, the blank will be tapered to a square at one end.

The next part is to round off the tapered square ends to a rough octagonal shape. This is done by placing the chopstick in the V-shaped groove, and the thin end is planed.

After all four corners are planed, the end looks like this.

Finally, the top end of the chopstick is trimmed with a nice pyramidal shape. A saw blade is mounted on the side of the Chopstick Maker.

THere’s a sliding attachment that fits over the base unit, and sliding the attachment back and forth will trim the end of the chopstick.

Here’s the final result.

There’s an additional insert for the base that allows you to make chopsticks with a narrower tip. The red base makes a chopstick with a 5mm diameter end, which is how Chinese people like their chopsticks, whereas the green base makes a chopstick with a 2mm diameter end, which is more typical for Japanese chopsticks. 

Total time to make a pair of chopsticks is about 5 minutes.

So why would you want the Chopstick Master? It’s certainly not for the value proposition, if all you’re looking at is the end product. At $2 for a pack of ten chopsticks, that’s a lot of chopsticks before I come out ahead. On the other hand, in Singapore I saw some luxury-level chopsticks made from rosewood that cost $150 for a set of ten, so maybe the break even point might come sooner than you might think.

Either way, the amount of fun you’ll have in making these chopsticks is well worth it, in my opinion. Kids can use the Chopstick Master. My younger son just finished making a pair of chopsticks out of cherry before I wrote this piece, and you can’t put a value on the time we spent doing that little project. Since all the parts are self-contained, your non-woodworking friends will be able to use the Chopstick Master as well.

And that’s why a Chinese woodworker would buy a one-trick gizmo to make chopsticks.

Disclaimer: I bought the Chopstick Master at list price, and get no compensation for this review or from any sales of this tool. The Christopher Schwarz ethics policy is in effect.

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