Salt mill help (not making, but using)

[Dvoigt]

I have a question for those that use salt mills (not so much the making).

We struggle with our salt mill not grinding the salt. We can turn the head for 30 seconds and not get much of anything. Sometimes we will shake it to move the salt chunks around inside... Sometimes that helps, sometimes it doesn't. We had a decent amount of salt caked inside the bottom, probably a result of my wife adding salt over pots of steaming water and the salt sticking to that. I took the whole thing apart and clean out the whole thing, but that didn't help.

I have never liked how the salt mills don't have adjustments that function like the peppermills. So I tried to not screw in the bottom piece all the way to allow the shaft to drop down more and allow larger salt chunks to get into the mechanism, not much help there either. Anyone have any ideas how to improve this condition?

I usually get my salt mill mechanisms from Craft Supplies, so they aren't super cheap ones or anything. I don't think the mech is bad. I just want it to function more consistently.

Thanks,
Derek

 

[gimpy]

When you fill the salt mill up, left about 1/4" from the top...the salt pellets need room to move up and down as the grind.......hope this works

 

[Dvoigt]

I only filled it up about 1/2 way, so that isn't the issue. But have definitely seen that problem before.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Derek,
I don't know anything about the "salt mills" per se, but I make the crush grind pepper grinders that use the ceramic grinders... I also sell them as salt grinders for those who want to use them that way... never had a problem with them binding up, but suggest you're idea that the steam from a boiling pot is getting up into the grinder and creating a blockage may be on target...

I only use the grinders made by IDEAL out of Denmark and get them from Cam Levers out of Toronto... the mechanisms that Woodturner's catalog sells and those at Packardwood are the same, just more expensive... PSI has now imported their own version of the crush/grind but it's made in China... the Ideal grinders have a gray colored adjustment wheel at the bottom - PSI's have a black adjustment wheel... they seem to work the same and PSI's are about $5 less than the others... I just prefer the IDEAL grinders.

 

[Rockytime]

(SNIP)
I only use the grinders made by IDEAL out of Denmark and get them from Cam Levers out of Toronto... the mechanisms that Woodturner's catalog sells and those at Packardwood are the same, just more expensive... (SNIP)

Can you post a url? I would appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[TellicoTurning]

(SNIP)
I only use the grinders made by IDEAL out of Denmark and get them from Cam Levers out of Toronto... the mechanisms that Woodturner's catalog sells and those at Packardwood are the same, just more expensive... (SNIP)

Can you post a url? I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Here you are: CrushGrind.US

correction to name: It's Ideas no Ideal.... the company is in Denmark... Cam Levers is in Canada, but operates as CrushGrind.us. If you buy 24 units, he tosses in an extra... Last year he would add one to an order of 9, but has had to change with the price increases to 24. I usually bought them 10 per purchase, paid for 9, got 10... shipping was $28 to me... worked out to just around $14 per unit with shipping... a couple of $ less than buying from U.S. suppliers. Not sure what shipping might be to Colorado...

I usually only buy the 10.2 shafts... I can cut for the shorter mills and haven't had a call for anything longer.

edit: I just re-read his order page.. he still adds one unit to 10+ orders... so future I'll order 10 and get 11.... I figure the per unit cost on the total number of units I receive.. if I order 10 @ 13.45, receive 11 and my shipping is still $28... my per unit cost would be $14.77 each.

 

[Dvoigt]

Why can't the peppermill mechanism be used to grind salt? They are stainless steel so I don't think there should be issue. I would just need different knobs that don't have the "P" on top.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Why can't the peppermill mechanism be used to grind salt? They are stainless steel so I don't think there should be issue. I would just need different knobs that don't have the "P" on top.

We do grind salt with a pepper mill... I don't use the stainless steel grinders though... I use the ceramic crush grind.. just make the mills from different colored woods, or in different shapes.

 

[Rockytime]

Thank you chuck for the information.

 

[Woodguy95]

My dad made a peppermill and it has a simillar issue. It will grind difficultly or not grind t all sometimes. In our case the problem comes from the fact that my father likes to rush things. It's a 10" long peppermill and it isn't drilled perpendicular to the mechanism which makes the grinding mecanism not line up perfectly... You could perhaps check the mechanism to see if one end of it seems to be tighter than the other. though I don't know how to fix it?

sorry for the bad English I'm not a native speaker