An adventure

[JoeOCNJ]

My buddy got interested in turning so today we took a ride to PSI about an hour and a half away. I wanted to get into pepper mills so I had my sights set on their 5 price Forster bit kit for their shaft mechanism mill kits. Picked up 2 kits and the bits and umm $160 in incidentals :biggrin: then I find a Forster bit kit on clearance it goes from 1/4 once to 2 inch with a good bit of in between sizes. It was on sale for 35 but when I noticed it was missing one of the required sizes plus the 5" extension they offered it to me for 25 bucks! So I spent about 10 more than just the 5 piece kit I was thrilled!!

My buddy well in order to protect his well being from his wife... Spent "a little bit more" than I did :wink: he got everything from barracuda jaw kit to all the basics for turning pens. He couldn't wait to get started he picked up the thin and medium ca glues and everything he needed to turn his first pen.

On the ride home I don't know what made me think of it but I had him check my receipt and my hunch was right...... I don't know what happened but the 2 mill kits I grabbed never made it to the cash register I was bummed and we were almost home so returning wasn't an option.

Later he tried calling me a few times because the ca glue wasn't setting up right ... Then tells me the bottle says "medium viscosity RUBBERIZED"... He was bummed when he realized it.. Fortunately he lives 10 mins from a hobby shop and they sell ZAP brand there.

Guess we both had the blinders on being 2 grown men in the proverbial candy shop. :wink:

On the bright side I got a good deal on maple and ash 3" x 9" round blanks for my first pepper mill I got 2 of each figuring I'll make the body 9" tall cut the shaft down and use the 2nd blank for the top. I'm not worried about the grain patterns maybe being a little off but was super happy to find a blank that didn't cost upwards of 20 bucks for something I may very well mess up the first time.

 

[alphageek]

Sounds like a blast.. Just one thought.... 9" should be plenty tall for your first pepper mill? I just recently did my first one and the blank was about 8.5" tall.

I'd make them a little shorter then you have enough blanks for 4 mills.

 

[JoeOCNJ]

It's always a possibility but I need to get the darn kits that I had and never bought lol.

Do you know if I could stain the outside of the turned mill before putting a sealant on it since its not a super good looking wood thought it might make it look nicer?

 

[alphageek]

I'd recommend for your first one... Try it out - do the turning.... Work through the shape..

When you get the kits, try it out (don't cut the shaft unless you choose to keep the mill as is).

My first one was out of a piece of cherry. It not perfect, but its a lot better than I expected from the piece of wood. Don't underestimate what "plain ash or maple" may turn out like.

Plus, like any first turning, just the act of doing the turning etc, will give you experience even if the final product doesn't make it to completion.

If you haven't read Eds instruction sheets on turning pepper mills, I recommend you read those. There is a few tips and tricks that may not be obvious to the beginning pepper mill maker (at least they weren't to me).

 

[ed4copies]

Find the FREE peppermill instructions here:
(scroll to nearly the bottom of the page) "peppermill instructional pictorial"

http://www.exoticblanks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=85

 

[PSU1980]

I also made a roadtrip to PSI last week with my wife and son. We spent 2-3 hours looking and buying. My bill was considerably larger than yours, but we had a great time.

Tim

 

[JoeOCNJ]

That place is deadly, and never fails while im looking at something expensive, and right before i check out the wife calls to see "how are you making out"

 

[TellicoTurning]

Sounds like a blast.. Just one thought.... 9" should be plenty tall for your first pepper mill? I just recently did my first one and the blank was about 8.5" tall.

I'd make them a little shorter then you have enough blanks for 4 mills.

I agree with 9" height... I make lots of pepper mills and it seems the 8-10 sizes are the most popular. With a 9" blank, I would likely come out with about an 8 or 8 1/2 inch mill.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Find the FREE peppermill instructions here:
(scroll to nearly the bottom of the page) "peppermill instructional pictorial"

http://www.exoticblanks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=85

Ed,
That's a great tutorial, but much too complicated for my tastes... it's much easier to use the Crush/Grind mechanism and just cut the shaft at the top end.... I like the segmented blank though.

I don't have a tutorial for my shafted mills, but here is one I did for making one of the shaftless grinders...