Sunnyco, I'll just bet that's what my mom's rolling pin started out life as! My father made it for her, I'm sure that it was originally a dowel. That's basically what mine is too although it came from Wm Sonoma & was more costly than a closet pole (I'm sure). The edges of the ends are rounded a bit. Demicent, those hollow glass rolling pins are the coolest. I see them at glass shows all of the time but always wondered about their fragility. I guess they'd have to be pretty durable for them to still be around & in use. Nina

FOAS, In fact, everyone is correct in some aspects, including LindaC's statements, the ones which I agree to. I know many people may find it bothersome to think about this, and I apologize to them; but cooking science is not that much of an exoteric thing, and some times it answers the question, â Why my pie dough is not goodâÂÂ. To answer your questions, 1. The stone counter is always at room temperature, which is about 80 degrees in the kitchen. When you put you hand on it, which is about 98.6 degrees, you will feel cold. But if you put a lump of cold dough from the refrigerator on it, which is about 40 degrees, the 80-degree stone will start to warm up the 40 degree colder dough, until everything comes to equilibrium, then everything reaches room temperature. 2. The identical situation will occur with a wood counter top. Except everything goes much slower because wood is a better insulator, and has less thermal mass to warm up your dough. To take advantage of the thermal mass (thermal capacity, thermal swing, etc.) of the stone, as Jim had indicated, you can refrigerate the stone slab if it is portable, or put ice cubes in a plastic bag on the counter to chill the stone first. Of course, this creates a little issue on a hot humid day, moisture will start to condense on the stone counter immediately. The stone slab I had could go in the refrigerator. Not only that, it could go into the oven. It is very nice to have your main course dishes on your dining table kept warm for a long time when it is being served. I did not mention a different thing I am doing now because I didnâÂÂt want to annoy people here. I have a 1/4 â thick aluminum plate which I have attached several Peltier solid state thermoelectric modules to. If you google Peltier you will find out that it is a fascinating electronic device. It is a tiny cookie-size reversible refrigerator with no moving parts. When you apply a DC current through it, one side of it will be very cold and the other side will be very hot. If you flip the switch the cold hot sides will reverse. I now have a plate that is both for hot and for cold. Not only that, by the switching arrangement of the modules, half of the plate is hot for hot food and at the same time the other half of the plate is cold for salads. It is much lighter than a slab of stone. I am not sure why they donâÂÂt sell this, because it is not expensive. You can buy a portable refrigerator using this device for about $30. dcarch

I've used the tapered rolling pins and like them. My Nona used a stick that was about one and a half inches in diameter, and I like those too. Like Annie said, I'll use whatever is available and it's fine. For quite a long time I've had a marble rolling pin and really love it. It does quick work and I don't have any problem with getting an even thickness, no matter what size I'm making. Also it doesn't smush soft doughs like I've heard some people say. The weight does help me work it fast.

From what our customers are saying silicone starts out fine, but over time they also start to stick. I'm with Linda... wood is what I grab the most when rolling out pie dough. I also have a marble one that I stick in the fridge to get cold before rolling doughs(when I remember). Use ice water, cold butter/lard, etc., when making pie doughs. I even make our granite counters cold when rolling out doughs. Cheers to you for making your own pies for the first time! NancyLouise