Pepper Mill Info

[kevin nee]

Hello, I have been asked to make a PEPPER MILL. My question is which mill is
of high quality? (ease of making would be a plus!) Who supplies a nice mill? I
Have been looking around online and there are so many choices that I thought
I would just ask some of you who have found a proven PEPPER MILL.
Thanks in advance, Kevin

[Mike Golka]

CrushGrind has been my choice for years. They carry a 25 year warranty.

[John King]

Ditto on the CrushGrind. It's the only way to go. - John

[Clint Merrill]

The Crush Grind mills are fine, but, I suggest you look at the deluxe mills in various sizes from Craft supplies and Packard Woodworks, they are available in various heights and much easier to work with. Craft Supplies has a very good tutorial and easily understood set of instructions you can view before you purchase. These are reliable mechanisms and will probably outlast your recipient. Good luck and have fun.

I have made many of both types and friends and customers love them.

Clint Merrill

[Dave Paine]

I have used the Crush Grind mechanisms. They are good mechanisms but they require a large diameter hole, hence a larger blank than other mechanisms.

I started with the shaftless Crush Grind mechanism.

I now prefer other mechanisms with a shaft since the lower part of the mechanism does not require as large a hole. This gives me more options for shaping the mill.

I use the Woodcraft mechanisms.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2001159/31347/Pepper-Mill-Grinder-Mechanism-8-Stainless-Steel.aspx

I expect Woodcraft and Craft Supplies and Packard Woodworks all have Asian sourced mechanisms.

Pick stainless mechanism for pepper only. Pick ceramic mechanism for salt or pepper.

[Stan Smith]

I made some pepper mills last Christmas. I chose 8" for the pepper mills and 6" for the salt shaker. I used the Artisan kit from Craft Supplies. You have to be pretty close with the shaft length. On one, I didn't measure right and had to add a 1/8th piece back on the bottom. The inside gets pretty hot using a forstner bit which doesn't go all the way through. You have to reverse the blank and drill back from the opposite direction. I used a mini lathe though. Since both Woodcraft and Craft Supplies have directions online, you may want to read them first before choosing which kit you want to buy. FWIW.

[Neal Daughtry]

I use the Artisan kits from Craft Supplies also. They seem to give a lot more pepper per turn of the knob than other mills. This is especially helpful if you are using it at the stove. You can cut the shafts off if your mill is too short and I have drilled the large hole deeper for a taller mill. I have made 14 inch mills using 10" mechanisms.

[Greg Just]

I only use Crush Grind and have never had a problem with them.

[Pat Scott]

I use the Turners Select Deluxe kit from Craft Supplies (the same thing from Packard is called the Deluxe Peppermill Mechanism). Both are the kind that have the adjustment knob on top. I was told that the Artisan mechanism doesn't grind as consistently or the top doesn't turn as easily (or something like that) as the Deluxe due to the teeth angle. The Deluxe is .05 to .10 cents more than the Artisan in the 8" and 10" size, so that's a no-brainer to go with the Turners Select. Dave you're paying $7 more buying from Woodcraft than Craft Supplies. They're all Stainless Steel.

I took a class on making Peppermills from Paul Chilton several years ago. The Turners Select is all he uses. I asked him about the Crush Grind mechanism (which is $4 more than Turners Select). I'm strictly going by what he told me, but he said that because the top is a press fit onto a plastic piece in the bottom, that over time he has had the plastic wear and the top become loose and will not stay in place (falls off). This is why he only uses the kind with a knob on top.

For someone just learning to make mills, the kind with knob on top might be less complicated to make.

[John King]

Grinding mechanisms are available from Chef Specialties. They sell salt mechanisms (4" to 12") and pepper mechanisms (4" to 18"). Check them out at http://www.chefspecialties.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/18/osCsid/vth9m1jq0khcbn6eejs6ee6vv0. - John

[Mike Mendelsohn]

I used to use the Crafts Supply turners deluxe mechanism until they changed their shipping policy. I called PSI and found that they had the same mechanism even though it didn't show up when I searched their web site. The price was almost a dollar less (qty 3+) and the shipping was flat rate at $9. As a bonus, I get 10% off codes a couple of times a year, making the price even lower.

I have made and sold a couple of dozen mills with these mechanisms and have had no complaints.

[Rob Price]

I had a shaft break on me with crush grind- I was also wondering if that press fit would wear. I've made several of the shaft less models and really like them. Besides requiring a wider blank, the length possibilities are endless.