Blank size for pepper mill

[Aces-High]

Can you make them with 2x2 or do they have to be 3x3?

Thanks,

Jason

 

[chartle]

depends on the mill. most need something around 2.5"

 

[Marcros]

I use an absolute minimum of 55mm, for a mill about 8- 9" tall. (sorry for mixed units). For mills taller than that, 60-65mm works. a 3" blank is a nice luxury.

I should state that my mills are very simple in shape and use the crushgrind mechanism. That mechanism needs a 50mm hole in the bottom from memory, so there is no room for drilling error on a 55mm blank.

 

[Herb G]

Some small mills can use a 2" blank, but most require a 3" blank.

 

[WriteON]

Aside from DIY cutting where can we get 3x12" blanks for a good price. I've seen them for $20-25. I'm not cheap but that's too rich for me. Thanks.

 

[chartle]

Aside from DIY cutting where can we get 3x12" blanks for a good price. I've seen them for $20-25. I'm not cheap but that's too rich for me. Thanks.

I'm in the same boat. Everytime I walk into Home Depot I'm eyeing the firewood piles. But my solution is going to be segmenting.

A 6 or 8 sided blank made from staves of maple, oak or walnut or whatever. It will then already have a hole down the middle and you just have to create round recesses in each end. The top can be a solid piece or have some sort of turned center. Some thing I know the name but can't spell. It starts with C and sounds French.

 

[WriteON]

Aside from DIY cutting where can we get 3x12" blanks for a good price. I've seen them for $20-25. I'm not cheap but that's too rich for me. Thanks.

I'm in the same boat. Everytime I walk into Home Depot I'm eyeing the firewood piles. But my solution is going to be segmenting.

A 6 or 8 sided blank made from staves of maple, oak or walnut or whatever. It will then already have a hole down the middle and you just have to create round recesses in each end. The top can be a solid piece or have some sort of turned center. Some thing I know the name but can't spell. It starts with C and sounds French.

Sounds interesting and custom. I don't have the equipment to cleanly segment. Still prefer a 3x12. I have a few buddies with a table saw. I might ask for a favor. I would give a finished something in return.

 

[chartle]

Sounds interesting and custom. I don't have the equipment to cleanly segment. Still prefer a 3x12. I have a few buddies with a table saw. I might ask for a favor. I would give a finished something in return.

Yea I never really thought that pen turners wouldn't have a full woodworking shop until I joined communities like this where some don't even have a drill press and buy things like pre drilled blanks.

 

[ed4copies]

Many of the mills I made were simple laminations--3/8" boards glued together. Using inexpensive exotic board lumber (yellowheart, redheart, etc), the overall effect was good and sold well. Typically, my starting block was 10/4 (2.5")

 

[Marcros]

I am in the UK, so it is a different market entirely. I can get standard natives at reasonable money, but I would have to pay a big premium for exotics, or anything heavily figured.

I do keep an eye open for other people using thick boards that might generate a few offcuts. If not, they may be able to buy an extra board and put it across their saw for you.

of course, thick boards can have some issues with moisture content, so be warned.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Like Ed Brown, I make a large percentage of my own blanks by gluing board together... I'm fortunate to have a local source for some of the exotic woods and can make some pretty nice glue ups... I also use a lot of the spectraply in my glue ups... I take the 3x3 blanks and cut them into smaller widths and glue them into my glue ups... I generally work with a 3" wide board by about 11 or 12 inches long. The spectraply blanks are all about 11 inches long. I also cut most of my native wood blanks myself also.