Keith Weber
01-13-2007, 5:01 AM
I'm going to visit a friend in Italy in about a week and I wanted to make him and his wife something in my shop. I brought them some pens that I made when I was there two years ago, and they still talk about the nice pens that I made. This year I decided to make a pepper grinder.
I've never made one before. I ordered the Lee Valley 12" SS kit and a walnut blank. Lee Valley is one of my favorite stores, but the instuctions that come with this kit are vague to say the least. Not to worry, though -- I'm sure that I'll be able to figure it out, but I do need someone's help on a couple of points.
1. I have to drill a 1" hole about 10" deep and hopefully stay somewhat close to the center of my blank. I have a drill press, and I have a drill chuck that can fit on either end of my Jet Mini Lathe. The problem is that I don't have a bit that's nearly that long. I'm sure that I could find an extention for those hex-ended spade bits that they use for general construction. I'm not sure how well that would work, or how straight it would track with the wobble point in the middle. I could weld a steel rod onto a forstner bit, but the chances of it staying straight are rare when the metal cools. If I drilled from both sides, I'm sure that the odds of meeting in the middle would be slim with my luck. I've only got one crack at this because I'm running out of time and I only have one blank. Any suggestions?
2. What kind of finish do you put on a pepper grinder? I'm thinking polyurethane so that it stands up to the wear of use. I've only used brush on oil-based Minwax Poly. I'm not sure that you could apply that to a spinning piece with a rag. Suggestions?
Thanks!
Keith
I've never made one before. I ordered the Lee Valley 12" SS kit and a walnut blank. Lee Valley is one of my favorite stores, but the instuctions that come with this kit are vague to say the least. Not to worry, though -- I'm sure that I'll be able to figure it out, but I do need someone's help on a couple of points.
1. I have to drill a 1" hole about 10" deep and hopefully stay somewhat close to the center of my blank. I have a drill press, and I have a drill chuck that can fit on either end of my Jet Mini Lathe. The problem is that I don't have a bit that's nearly that long. I'm sure that I could find an extention for those hex-ended spade bits that they use for general construction. I'm not sure how well that would work, or how straight it would track with the wobble point in the middle. I could weld a steel rod onto a forstner bit, but the chances of it staying straight are rare when the metal cools. If I drilled from both sides, I'm sure that the odds of meeting in the middle would be slim with my luck. I've only got one crack at this because I'm running out of time and I only have one blank. Any suggestions?
2. What kind of finish do you put on a pepper grinder? I'm thinking polyurethane so that it stands up to the wear of use. I've only used brush on oil-based Minwax Poly. I'm not sure that you could apply that to a spinning piece with a rag. Suggestions?
Thanks!
Keith