Peppering up my turning

[Drcal]

I have been turning for over 15 years and I have never ever turned a pepper mill...just afraid of messing up a $30+ chunk of wood.

Can anyone recommend a good mechanism with clear instructions? Prices vary all over from Woodcraft to, CSUSA to PSI. Need some advice. Thanks.

Carmen
Tampa Bay

 

[Harley2001]

Don't use a good wood for your frist one . They are not that hard to make. Just go for it.

 

[Charlie_W]

Check our the pepper mill kits at Chef Specialties. Our club gets lots of these an folks like them.
Pepper Mills at Chef Specialities: Pepper Grinders, Salt And Pepper Mills, Designer Pepper Mills, Salt Mills
There are plenty of videos on pepper mills also.

 

[TellicoTurning]

I have been turning for over 15 years and I have never ever turned a pepper mill...just afraid of messing up a $30+ chunk of wood.

Can anyone recommend a good mechanism with clear instructions? Prices vary all over from Woodcraft to, CSUSA to PSI. Need some advice. Thanks.

Carmen
Tampa Bay

I like the crush grind style of mills... they are a lot more forgiving than those with the top knurl... you can adjust the shaft length on the crush grind to fit your turning... and they're pretty easy to do.

And lately I've had good luck with the little mini crank grinders that PSI and CSUSA sell... they only use a 4" block of wood, so not so much to mess up.

Here's a couple I did.... ok more than a couple...

The only wood I've bought for this batch is the first one 34-1811 ... it's a piece of black olive wood I picked up at my local wood store... the others are all from pick up wood that I've gotten for free from friends and neighbors.

 

[kovalcik]

Ont thing I found is that the dimensions are not that critical. I did not have a 1 1/16" bit when I made my first one, so I drilled 1" and used a scraper to turn just the bottom part to 1 1/16" so the mechanism fit. The height is more critical so the adjustments work (for the top knurl design) but you can always cut the rod shorter if neeed.

The one thing I would recommend is to plan out how you will hold it during each step. You end up having to flip it around a few times, so make sure to plan for how your chuck will hold it during each step.

 

[sailing_away]

I like the look for the smaller ones. I'll have to give them a try on my next order. Do you still price them at $10 / inch?

 

[gimpy]

Here are a few I made:

1. Pecan
2. Purple Heart
3. Red Elm
4. Spalted Ambrosia Maple
5. Unsure

 

[TellicoTurning]

I like the look for the smaller ones. I'll have to give them a try on my next order. Do you still price them at $10 / inch?

Not sure if your question was for me or someone else, but I don't price at $10 per inch... My market place won't support that price, so I go for between $5.50 and $7.50 per inch, depending on the wood... since most of my woods don't cost me much, I tend to sell them a little more reasonably. The little cranks I sell for $29 to $49, again depending on the wood and what it cost me. The engineered woods I use, Spectraply, go at $49 since the woods are a little pricier... the natural woods like cherry, cedar, etc, I get for little to nothing beyond a little labor on my part... so at $29 they're still selling at nearly 5 times my cost.

 

[sailing_away]

Your prices seem very fair. I also use wood that is free or very low cost. It is amazing how much wood can be found locally on craigslist or from your local tree services.

Have you found one kit better than another or are they all about the same? I have been buying the kits from CSUSA but my next order might be Chef Specialties.