pepper mill complete, slight concern

[chris ormsby]

It has taken an eternity to complete, but I have a pepper mill final assembled. The one concern I have is that my 1 1/16 bore where the mechanism fits is a bit sloppy. is there a filler product (caulk or silicone) that is food safe. I am afraid the ground pepper will spill over the top of the mechanism. I am only talking a differecne in diameter of less than 1/16 total between the body and mechanism. Before I get yelled at, I will post a pic tonight. The cap to body fit came out great so the rest of the mill came out well I think. Thanks in advance. Chris

[Toney Robertson]

If that will work, I would think silicone would be food safe after it is cured.

Toney

[Chris Stolicky]

I believe the silicone marketed for "kitchens and bath" are safe once they are cured.

The first that comes to mind the GE stuff that's like $5 for a tube. They might make smaller tubes of it....

good luck

[Maria Alvarado]

100% silicone, with no fungicides is food safe, often marked as Aquarium silicone. DAP is one manufacturer.

[Ted Calver]

What mechanism are you using? Crush Grind or one of the stainless ones with the adjustment knob on top?

[Nathan Hawkes]

100% silicone, with no fungicides is food safe, often marked as Aquarium silicone. DAP is one manufacturer.
GE silicone I--that's silicone ONE, NOT two, which has the added mildew stoppers of some sort works great, if you don't mind it smelling like vinegar for a while. All silicone is going to do that, it actually releases gaseous vinegar (acetic acid) as it cures. I would think this would be quite a detractant for a pepper mill. I used to install & maintain saltwater aquariums for a living, and used it at least a few times a week to make custom filter sumps (underneath the tank areas for filters, heaters, etc.). The smell lingers for quite a while; it may keep people from buying your peppermills. If you can stand to let them cure for a while--70F or higher, and dry air, you'd have a better chance of the wood not smelling. I stress that all silicone or caulking is going to have some odor to it after a while. Perhaps I'm just overly sensitive to it, but keep air moving and it will degas soon.

[mike holden]

Chris, another way to fill a gap is BONDO. Yep, the automotive body filler. We used gallons of it on wooden patterns in the patternshops I worked in. Dries quick and hard.
Get a container of release agent as well. Coat your mechinism with the release agent, apply bondo where needed, insert the mechanism, wait about an hour, remove the mechanism (wash with water to remove the release agent), trim bondo as needed, then reassemble. Bondo adheres to the wood quite well.
Mike

[John King]

Chris - Turn a wooden dowel to fit the oversize opening. Glue it in the opening. Drill the opening to the correct size. - John

[shaun gardner]

GE silicone I--that's silicone ONE, NOT two, which has the added mildew stoppers

Just to clarify GE I silicone does have bioseal in it as well as GE II. GE II advertises the bioseal on it. There is absolutely no difference between the two. This information was obtained from calling them and having in depth conversation about the bioseal additive. It was a marketing thing.

How about using epoxy?

[chris ormsby]

A plug in the hole was my first thought. Unfortunately, I didn't do that early enough. The wedding this is a gift for is tomorrow in new hampshire. (3 hr ride) I wonder if the first couple grinds will clog it up. It will have a lifetime warenty :) Next visit I will have them bring it and plug it then.