Pepper Mill Processing Question

[Mike Goetzke]

Getting ready to turn my first salt & pepper mills. My wife bought me 3"x3"x12" blocks of Marblewood and Zapote wood (ha, never heard of these before) and a couple Crushgrind mills. I did lots of searching and came up with the design I want to make and now it comes down to the steps to make them. I did quite a bit of reasearch on this too.

My question is that most round the block, cut tenons, part the top from body, drill the body, and then use jam chucks to re-mount and shape the body. Now, I found one method that differs from this. After the block is rounded and one tenon put on the top end the holes in the bottom of the body are drilled and then the body is shaped and finished. This method would seem to a new turner to save lots of steps but there must be a reason most use the added steps. Looking for reasons for the added steps. (link to shortened method: http://www.woodworkersguide.com/2008/10/17/how-to-turn-a-pepper-mill/ )



Thanks,

Mike

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

the second set of instruction you linked is for a "traditional" grinder mechanism, not a crush/grind

there's really not a right or wrong way to do it - but you can choose to use whatever method is easiest for you - or the one that requires the least additional capital outlay (for more chucks, jig, etc)

I would suggest you look at the instructions for a crush/grind kit - you can get the instructions from Craft Supplies USA, Woodcraft or www.chefwarekits.com

each vendor has slightly different instructions.

[BILL DONAHUE]

I second Shawn's comments. The directions from Chefware Kits are particularly good. Chris West has published a book on peppermills and his instructions about the crushgrind mechanism can be found online and are excellent.

[John Brown]

Bill, Could you tell us where on line we can find the instructions.
Thanks

[Mike Goetzke]

Bill, Could you tell us where on line we can find the instructions.
Thanks

This may be the one Bill is referring to: http://www.westwoodturnery.co.uk/CG%20Shaft%20guide%20RS.pdf

It was one of the clearest written, but, it requires a special undercut tool because his method uses the built in tabs and no glue.

Mike

[Mike Goetzke]

the second set of instruction you linked is for a "traditional" grinder mechanism, not a crush/grind

there's really not a right or wrong way to do it - but you can choose to use whatever method is easiest for you - or the one that requires the least additional capital outlay (for more chucks, jig, etc)

I would suggest you look at the instructions for a crush/grind kit - you can get the instructions from Craft Supplies USA, Woodcraft or www.chefwarekits.com (http://www.chefwarekits.com)

each vendor has slightly different instructions.

Thanks for the reply - I did receive instructions with the CG mill but for someone new they are not very detailed that's why I looked elsewhere. My question was really related to is it OK to finish turning the base with the top on before all the internal boring is done?


Thanks,

Mike

[BILL DONAHUE]

This may be the one Bill is referring to: http://www.westwoodturnery.co.uk/CG%20Shaft%20guide%20RS.pdf

It was one of the clearest written, but, it requires a special undercut tool because his method uses the built in tabs and no glue.

Mike

That's the one! Still, you may want to read through it several times first.

[Peter Fabricius]

Mike,
The article by Chris West above is very good.
Re your question on the sequence of turning the body and top, you have to select the methods you wish to use for holding the parts and then work out how each can be turned and held with the tools you have.
The little grooving tool can be bought, yes, but it is easy to grind one from an Alan key. It just has to make a little 3/16" groove about 1/8" deep.
I believe that the tabs should be left on and grooves cut. When installing it is only necessary to put a little Epoxy in the grooves to secure the tabs from turning.
Looking forward to seeing your mills, Mike.
Peter F.

[John King]

Halt! Don't chuck up the wood and begin turning a peppermill until you have read Turning Salt & Pepper Shakers and Mills by Chris West. It's the definitive document on turning peppermills. Many pages are dedicated to mill projects using the CrushGrind@ mechanism. Detailed instructions, drilling guides and jigs for use with the CrushGrind@ mechanism are provided.

One final comment. Use of the CrushGrind@ mechanism as designed requires no adhesive. In my early days of using the CrushGriind@ mechanism I cut the tabs off the mechanism and used epoxy to secure it to the mill body. Bad idea! Don't do it! Turn grooves in the mill body and cap and use the tabs to secure the GrushGrind@ mechanism to the mill body and the stopper to the mill cap. If for some reason you feel compelled to use some adhesive to secure the CrushGrind@ components to your mill, do not use an epoxy. It's a brittle adhesive and will likely fail when used to bond a very stable component (CrushGrind@ mechanism and stopper) to an unstable component (wood). Use some sort of flexible adhesive (E6000 comes to mind).

All for now. - John

[Dale Gillaspy]

The problem with boring after the turning is done is that if the hole wanders a little bit, the nothing will be centered. If you bore first, everything you turn will be centered on that hole. I have turned a bunch of pepper mills, and all the above advice I agree with. I have read Chris's book and it is great. My first suggestion would be to turn one on some scrap wood to get the process down before you dig into the expensive wood.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Mike, Keep in mind that a the top of your mill will have a tenon that fits into a mortice on the body. The tenon must be able to turn inside the mortice. If you buy green wood and it does not dry uniformly, and it won't, the tenon may twist half way then bind. Moral of the story is to use kiln dried wood or fit the tenon loose. Guess how I learned that lesson.
faust

[Mike Goetzke]

Mike,
The article by Chris West above is very good.
Re your question on the sequence of turning the body and top, you have to select the methods you wish to use for holding the parts and then work out how each can be turned and held with the tools you have.
The little grooving tool can be bought, yes, but it is easy to grind one from an Alan key. It just has to make a little 3/16" groove about 1/8" deep.
I believe that the tabs should be left on and grooves cut. When installing it is only necessary to put a little Epoxy in the grooves to secure the tabs from turning.
Looking forward to seeing your mills, Mike.
Peter F.

Peter thanks for sharing your mill instructions with me they work out best for my design. The Chris West article is good for all the fine details. I saw the undercut/depression tool and decided to make one myself. I used a HSS parting tool and hacked it into one. I think I'm ready to go but I'm supposed to get two new Thompson gouges delivered Friday and may wait on those.

Mike

[John King]

Mike, Keep in mind that a the top of your mill will have a tenon that fits into a mortice on the body. The tenon must be able to turn inside the mortice. If you buy green wood and it does not dry uniformly, and it won't, the tenon may twist half way then bind. Moral of the story is to use kiln dried wood or fit the tenon loose. Guess how I learned that lesson.
faust

While a mortise/tenon arrangement may be desirable for some mill designs, it is not mandatory. The CrushGrind@ stopper can be used as the tenon on the mill cap. The mortise in the mill base is drilled (26 mm diam) or turned to match the diameter of the stopper in the mill cap. When the mill cap is mounted on the grinding shaft, the stopper centers the mill cap on the mill body. Eliminates hassle of turning mortise and tenon. - John

[Neal Daughtry]

Mike you might want to glue a couple of 2x4's together and make a test mill. This would help you to get the process down and you wouldn't mess up your nicer wood.

[Marc Tuunanen]

I second the test mill run. I have several pre-drilled kits from woodcraft but, still will make a test mill first. I want every chance to get it right the first time I use expensive wood.

Cheers and Good Luck,
Marc

[Mike Goetzke]

Mike you might want to glue a couple of 2x4's together and make a test mill. This would help you to get the process down and you wouldn't mess up your nicer wood.

Good suggestion! I have tried some of the drilling and turning but not on a real size sample - this is a good idea. I do have a hunk of oak that has been sitting for years and who knows it it turns out well I'll have three mills!

Mike