Pepper Mills

[dennis kranz]

For those of you who do pepper mills what is the tool you reach for most often? My wife wants one and this may be the chance to get a new tool or upgrade with permission.
Dennis

[Kyle Iwamoto]

That's a vague question. First I get the drill press, make the blank hollow, you'll need a forstner bit set. Then turn the mill. Pretty easy, no special turning tools needed. Unless you want to get a Sorby texturing tool. If I had the green light, that's what I would buy. Or any texturing tool I guess. The Sorby just popped into my head.

[Bob Vavricka]

Dennis, Here are the tools I use for the method I use for making pepper mills.

Scroll chuck
Steady rest (homemade with skate wheels)
Three jaw chuck with #2 Morse taper (I drill my holes on the lathe with the drill chuck in the tail stock)
Forstner bits for sizes needed
I did purchase a 1 1/16 inch twist drill ground for drilling end grain since it is the size I use to drill through the mill body It works better than the forstner bit I used at first.
Homemade jam chucks and a Oneway Live Center with the full point cone -- I turn the body to shape after drilling the holes then put the large end in a jam chuck held in scroll chuck and let the full point cone center the smaller hole in the other end.
I just ordered some Colt Maxi-cut forstner bits with a #2 morse taper adapter and extension, but the haven't arrived yet so I can't tell you if they are an improvement over the forstner bits I have been using.
Bob V.

[John King]

This question is waaay to vague. There are many work processes for making peppermills - Ted Sokolowski, Paul Chilton, Nick Cook, Craft Supplies USA, David Campbell, Packard Woodworks, Lee Valley Tools, Woodcraft, American Woodworker Magazine, Fred Kachelhofer - to name several. Each peppermill work process has a required tool portfolio. And the tool portfolio for each peppermill work process is likely to be different - similar perhaps, but not identical.

My advice: Get a set of written instructions and/or a DVD on turning peppermills. Read and watch with close attention paid to the tools used for each task. Decide what tools you would use for each task. And then decide what tool(s) are missing from your tool portfolio.

Hope this helps. - John

[Mike Golka]

Tell her whatever tool "you realy want" is a must for turning mills and go get it.:rolleyes: Oh yeh, make sure she sees you using it on the mill or you could be in deep doo-doo:eek:.

[Steve Mawson]

Mike hit the nail on the head for sure.

[Bob Vavricka]

For those of you who do pepper mills what is the tool you reach for most often? My wife wants one and this may be the chance to get a new tool or upgrade with permission.
Dennis
I agree with most of the above, but, the question really isn't that vague. "If you turn pepper mills" what tools do you use the most?
Bob V.

[Bruce McElhaney]

How' bout a new lathe with all the bells and whistles?

[Steve Kubien]

For me, there are a few really important tools (IMHO).... A 3-jaw chuck with a morse taper to match your tailstock as I drill on the lathe, a thin parting tool and my 3/8" Thompson spindle gouge.