Grinding filler

[Aaron Craven]

I have a friend who owns a professional coffee grinder that makes some of the finest ground coffee I've ever seen. This work very well for filling cracks, but it has me thinking. I'd like to be able to grind filler (coffee, wood, soft stone, etc) much smaller even than this stuff... I'm talking the consistency of fine enriched flour. Not in large amounts... just a little at a time.

Anyone have any ideas? I was thinking maybe a mortar and pestle?

[Brice Rogers]

coffee, stone and wood are all different items to grind finely. I'm not sure if one grinder would work equally well with each. For some things I use a high-speed coffee grinder. The blades whirl around at about 10,000 or 20,000 rpms. It works okay for many items, but the output is not uniform in size - - I need to screen it. Also, while it works good on coffee, it doesn't work all that well on wood as the fibers seem too light. I've used it on soft stone and it does okay although it sounds terrible when I'm doing it. (BTW, I bought this at Goodwill for $2 - - so if I destroy it, I'm not going to be disappointed).

[Sid Matheny]

A blinder works well for coffee grounds and soft wood. You might not want to use it in the kitchen any more. :o

[Eric Gourieux]

I use a push-button coffee grinder (like a high-speed food processor). As Brice mentioned, it doesn't produce a uniform consistency. I save the lids from my rattle can lacquer and drill various size holes to use as a sifter for different sizes. I use this mostly for turquoise.

[Aaron Craven]

Hmm... I did notice problems with non-uniform granules... sifting is a good idea. I'll stick that in my book of tricks.

[john taliaferro]

Why would you wast good coffee on firewood ,just teasing. I have more people like the defect than not on my larger things . # 3 is ive had problems with wood movement squeeze out filler . Their is a lot more time involved in cleaning up than just filling plus you get in trouble for steeling Her emery boards .

[Thom Sturgill]

Hmm, burr grinders produce more consistent grinds than bladed grinders. Makes me wonder about using salt grinders. Not sure if ceramic would work better than steel, or would break with harder items, but you can dial in the grind you want.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have a drum sander, and after sanding some wood, I grab some dust from the vacuum. Fine and pretty consistent. I have different wood dusts, koa dust, maple dust, oak dust etc. Each time I use the sander for a specific type of wood, I grab some dust...... Those are the main 3, dark, light and medium colors.