Amazakoue Salt Mill

[mikefoye]

I am not sure that I am posting in the right place but I purchased 3 x 3 x 12 Amazakoue blanks from Woodcraft to make a 10" pepper mill and a 10" salt mill. Easy to turn but they were really difficult to drill. Wood seemed wet (oily). After I was done and finished with the project I filled the salt mill and gifted it to my daughter. After 2 or 3 days it stopped working. I disassembled it and found the salt to be wet clogging the mechanism. I emptied the mill and found the salt to be damp. Is there a safe way to dry the mill out without ruining the CA finish that I put on it? Is Amazakoue an oily or wet wood?

 

[Lucky2]

Was the wood green/wet to begin with, or was it dry/seasoned? Did you apply a finish to the interior of the mill, or did you leave it unfinished? I doubt that you would have this issue, if you were to finish the interior. I'm not sure how oily it is, but, that would have to be looked after before applying the finish.
Len

 

[mikefoye]

Thanks Lucky Len for the prompt reply. I assumed these blanks were seasoned and/or aged when I purchased from Woodcraft. They came to me completely wax coated. Perhaps that doesn't mean anything. I have a Jet 1014 lathe that was apparently not powerful enough to take a serious bite when lathe drilling the thru hole because it took forever and the bits got really hot. The shavings coming out seemed wet. Now that it is done and assembled would you have a recommendation on what type of sealer I could put on the inside. I am thinking of sealing the two ends and just sloshing some around inside to get a good coating and then dumping the excess and letting it dry thoroughly.