How to make a die for a pasta extruder

I've had a really cool hand crank pasta extruder for a few years but there are limited options for brass or copper pasta dies that fit. After making my espresso tamper out of a chunk of copper I thought I'd move on to a marginally more complicated project. Here's the way I made a new pasta die. I made it at techshop with a fair amount of advice from their fantastic staff.

In retrospect I should have either started with a more straight forward shape or taken the Tormach class and used a CNC mill to cut the curved profiles. I'll almost certainly make stupider mistakes on my next project.

Let's get started!

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Step 1: Shape the outside

Toss a big chunk of metal (in this case copper) in a lathe and turn it down to the size that fits the extruder. My machine uses 59mm for the outer diameter, 49mm for the inner.

lsmith254 says: Jan 27, 2013. 11:36 AM

Lovely simple press...took me five minutes to find one like it online! Is this a Bigolaro? I've been looking for a press like this; the plastic die collars do break on other machines. Now I must find one of these! Thanks for sharing.

FoodGeek (author) in reply to lsmith254Jan 27, 2013. 3:34 PM

Exactly. For some reason the US distributor calls it a Torchio but as best I can tell they are the same product. I got mine from Emiliomiti in San Francisco.

AxlTxl in reply to FoodGeekJan 28, 2013. 9:19 AM

I think that's called Torchio because in Italy that instrument is called "torchio" (in italian "torchio" is a kind of press, often related to food or wine... or arts, that's quite the same ;) ) and that kind pasta is called "pasta trafilata al torchio" ("torchio wire drawn pasta", I hope that this literal translation could help... I've never had to explain that in english, sorry ;) )

Great instructable!
Thanks for sharing!

FoodGeek (author) in reply to AxlTxlJan 28, 2013. 11:19 AM

Thanks for the explanation! That makes the name much clearer.

lsmith254 in reply to FoodGeekJan 27, 2013. 8:57 PM

Thank you...that is the site that kept popping up when I searched. It looks like they have many different sizes. Which one do you show here, if you don't mind?
Btw, I like the organic S-shape you chose. Nice way to showcase your sauce's density/texture.
PS (I didn't know that bronze interacted with pasta dough, giving it more texture that allows sauce to stick better.)

FoodGeek (author) in reply to lsmith254Jan 27, 2013. 11:07 PM

Mine is size 'B', it's the only one that you can change the die without disassembling the machine. I made another batch of pasta with this die tonight, it ended up being more like 115g of flour per egg - the firmer dough gave it a nice rough texture after running it through the extruder.

lsmith254 in reply to FoodGeekJan 28, 2013. 5:19 PM

TYVM! Good to know...I would not want to make only one kind each time. Saving up for one! :.)

octochan says: Jan 27, 2013. 7:21 AM

hmm, i wonder if i can use my cookie press to make pasta?

Spokehedz in reply to octochanJan 27, 2013. 9:03 AM

You might be able to, but be careful as pasta is MUCH more dense and the cookie extruder can break as a result.

octochan in reply to SpokehedzJan 27, 2013. 5:11 PM

Good to know, thanks! The plates are aluminum, but the plunger is a plastic end on a metal rod, so maybe I won't risk it.

cfweise says: Jan 27, 2013. 7:57 AM

Very nice! Sounds tasty too.

Claymore_Highfield says: Jan 25, 2013. 7:13 AM

The Instructable made me jealous, the recipe made me hungry! :D

Your metal shop learning adventure was humourous, and seeing your possibilities with the metal lathe caused a bit of envy. I have a wood lathe, and can just imagine what sorts of fun metal turning might be.

Nicely done - thanks for sharing!

FoodGeek (author) in reply to Claymore_HighfieldJan 25, 2013. 6:06 PM

Thanks! I've been having a fantastic time and learning all sorts of stuff.

stringstretcher says: Jan 24, 2013. 4:27 AM

Great! You're finding yellow chanterelles *now???* I pick those in august/september here... in Sweden, where the temp is now -10 C!

FoodGeek (author) in reply to stringstretcherJan 24, 2013. 7:40 AM

Ya. The weather in California is quite a bit different :)

richardsan says: Jan 24, 2013. 6:41 AM

very cool. gotta say the copper/brass look, pops!
i make dies for my barrel extruders for ceramics. the white 'cutting board' material should be easy enough to use, for those 'doers' without access to mills/lathes, etc...; ^)
can you give some info about your pasta extruder? built or bought?

FoodGeek (author) in reply to richardsanJan 24, 2013. 7:21 AM

Thanks! I bought my pasta extruder, it's a pretty simple machine - brass tube, piston, crank, and a flange to bolt it down. Here is a photo of a similar one. Mine is almost the same but doesn't have any red.