Wooden butter molds

I don't think hickory, with its open grain would be the best choice. As you pack the butter into the mold, you'd also force it into the pores, where it would stay. Beech, birch and maple are more familiar choices.

As to patterns, it's a box with an ejector bottom. A turned box with a hole in the bottom and a circle to fit over it would be good. Once packed and chilled, place the hole over a mounted dowel to eject.

You going to carve your mark in the ejector, or just stamp the round?

Since I have a large source of free hickory, I thought I'd try it. I mainly want to make them for decorative gifts rather than practical daily use, though I would like them useable enough for special occasions.

I though that would be about right. I suppose to make them not too large a size I can hollow the raw blank with a forstner, then turn a nice shape (cylinder, bell, or some curvy ogee, etc.) using a chuck. The pilot hole from the hollowing would also give a pilot for the handle to come through dead center. I want to make a nice shaped handle tenoned into the disc, but I also wonder if the traditional ones had a permanently mounted ejector handle (making it hard to place upside down and cool), or you just had a hole to put it in to eject it?

Should the disc edge be exactly a right angle to the face, or should there be a bit of taper (if so, which way?) so it will pack nice and tight, but eject easily and not jam?

I haven't tried carving, yet. I was thinking this might be a good chance to get a basic set and give it a try. Use maybe some simple patterns I have in some scroll saw books. I imagine it would take some real pressure or pounding to imprint hickory. I was thinking of using the bandsaw and planer to make some 3/8 to 1/2" thick pieces to cut the discs so I'm using side grain instead of end grain, unless you'd think the end grain orientation would handle the pressure better or not be as likely to warp and jam??

Anyway, you got me to thinking a bit more about the design. Thanks!

No sense adding to your problems. One ejector does all.

I think they'll be fairly well lubricated with butter, so a bit of clearance to allow for them to be damp would be all I'd give. Careful of expansion differences between cross-grain ejector and long grain box if you go that way.