Wood Handles for Cast Iron Skillets

I wanted a handle for my cast iron skillets so I didn't always have to use a towel to grip them. I bought a silicon handle for this purpose, but when it was left on the skillet it became too hot to handle. This Instructable demonstrates how to make a wooden handle for skillets that is still oven safe.

This is the old method I tried. I wrapped a rope around the handle twice and tied it off at the end. Heat wise it was a great method, but the end of the grip where the handle still peaked out was very hot and would catch the hand occasionally. The rope was also not oven safe and contained a polymer.

I spent a few minutes prototyping a two pieces handle with a single screw, but decided a single block of wood was a better design.

Take a few measurements of the cast iron handle. A dial caliper works well for this purpose. Each cast iron handle is different, so measuring for each handle is necessary.

Cut a piece of hard wood large enough to accommodate the handle. I only had narrow pieces, so I cut a few to glue together.

Glue and clamp the pieces together to achieve a size large enough for the handle.

Sand the surfaces of the wood to make an even smooth block.

Mark the wood with the measurements taken with the caliper.

Drill the center of the wood to accommodate the handle of the skillet. I drilled center, left and right before it drilled out the two small remaining bits of wood. I then used a hand drill to manually smooth out the inside of the rough hole.

I fit the handle to the pan and continued to adjust the hole with a hand drill until the wood fit the skillet handle snugly.

Use a router to round out the edges of the handle.

Use a caliper to measure between the pan side of the wood handle and the back of the hook hole in the skillet handle. Drill a pilot hole here. Also countersink the hole to accommodate a screw head.

Add a screw to the hole to fasten the handle in place. Cut a screw to the right length if necessary. Originally the handle was snug enough that it didn't need a screw, but after a little use it began to loosen up and I decided to add a screw.The screw will heat up, so a grip avoiding it is necessary.