Mesquite, Coccobolo, and Chechen Peppermills

[Dominic Greco]

Here are (3) 10" peppermills I completed over the past week. They are Mesquite, Coccobolo, and Chechen. Two of these are for a commission, while the third is most likely sold already.

All feature my "signature" coaster (actually it was my wife's idea), and are of a profile I came up with and detailed using 3d Software. I used a story stick/template to allow me to get the profiles as close as possible. But as you can see, each one has subtle difference. But the critical areas are exactly alike.

The coasters are cut from the same blank of wood so that they are grain matched. I sized them so that they are a lot like suction fit box lids. They will come away with the tiniest of a "pop". But not too much that they get carried along when you lift the peppermill off of the counter.

All of them use the same "Mr Dudley" mechanisms from Packard Woodworks, and feature the same finish. One coat of sealer followed by light sanding, followed by several coats of Danish Oil, Beall buffing, followed by a coat of Renaissance Wax.

IMHO the coccobolo was the most surprising wood to work. Since I normally used pen sized blanks, I expected a troublesome wood. In my experience, coccobolo had a tendency to crack. But here it cut beautifully! You can bet I'll turn more of that if I get the chance.

The chechen was somewhat disappointing. The wood starts off as red then becomes this brownish red as you turn. If it wasn't for the commission, I probably would have never selected this wood.

The mesquite was the most fun to turn. When I started turning this wood, I remembered why I liked it so much. It takes an edge well and smells awesome. The voids were a bit of a problem. But they ended up getting filled with ground coffee, charcoal dust, and epoxy.

I also am now hooked on the use of a 3 point tool. After I made my 3/8" version, I found I needed a smaller one. So I made a 1/4", and 1/8" version. The 1/4" is now my "go to tool" for detailing spindles. Rolling beads is now more enjoyable than ever.

Now that I have these done, I have several more to make for a local restaurant owner. But he wants Olive wood! Anyone know where I can get a couple 3" sq x 12" - 14" long olive wood blanks? :>)

[Jonathon Spafford]

Beautiful mills.... the shapes are really beautiful. It's pretty easy to turn, but not always easy to turn pleasing shapes... these look good!

[Neal Addy]

Really nice forms! They look like they'd be nicely balanced in the hand.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful work Dominic! You worked out a great form for your mills - very pleasing. Great looking wood in each of the mills and your wife's idea of a coaster really works! Very nice work!

[Mark Pruitt]

That's an excellent profile. Not too "busy" and yet some nice details. Very well done.

[Rich Stewart]

Really pretty peppermills. Good job. Can you glue up olivewood or is it too oily? I saw a 48" square table made of olivewood on ebay. Might be able to cut it up. 100 bucks though.

[Ed Scolforo]

Very impressive, Dominic! I love the forms.
Ed

[Greg Savage]

The mesquite was the most fun to turn. When I started turning this wood, I remembered why I liked it so much. It takes an edge well and smells awesome. The voids were a bit of a problem. But they ended up getting filled with ground coffee, charcoal dust, and epoxy.

Now that I have these done, I have several more to make for a local restaurant owner. But he wants Olive wood! Anyone know where I can get a couple 3" sq x 12" - 14" long olive wood blanks? :>)

First off....The mills look very nice! Dump the Mr. Dudley mechanism and go with either a Chef Specialty or a CrushGrind...These are far superior to ths Mr.D hardware and one carries a lifetime warranty the other 25 years.

Second....Make the voids in the mesquite work to your advantage. Instead of doing the coffee ground or sawdust or charcoal and epoxy filler, inlay some crushed turquoise or malichite with CA...instead of trying to cover up the impefections that nature has handed you, accent them. I learned this trick about 15 years ago and i never hesitate to inlay crushed stone or shell or something other than sawdust,etc., which always looked looks like you are trying to hide something. With mesquite and turquoise, you just can't get anymore Southwest. Also, you get to hear the rediculous comment..."I didn't know that turquoise grew in trees!"

Third...Stay away from Olive wood for mills.....Too unstable.......The tenon that you cut has to be cut very sloppy so when the wood moves, AND IT WILL MOVE A LOT!!!!, it won't hang up on the now out-of-round walls.

I am about to start selling mechanisms and burl wood on the Peppermill Guy website, so if you are interested in other mechanisms, give me a shout. It may be a few weeks to populate the site with hardware and wood though.

Greg
http://www.peppermillguy.com/intro.html

BTW.....I have Olivewood 3in squares that 12-14in long in stock........I just don't recommend it for a mill.

[Keith Beck]

Greg,

I took a look at your website... nice mills and stoppers! I really love the finish you use. Do you mind sharing?

Thanks.

Keith

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Neat Job Dominic. You seem to have those mills down pat! Good Work!:)

[Greg Savage]

Greg,

I took a look at your website... nice mills and stoppers! I really love the finish you use. Do you mind sharing?

Thanks.

Keith

I don't mind sharing at all.......It is CA on the stoppers and rub on poly on some of the mills , catalyzed laquer on a few more and on woods like Cocobolo, I will give it a shot of Boiled linseed, shellac and alcohol. Most of it gets buffed away, but it seals some areas here and there.

Someone told me years ago..."Shiny sells!"...Thats why I try to get that wet look on some things. Some will argue on what should be used on the stoppers, but CA seems to be durable and resilient.

Didn't mean to change the subject.

[Dominic Greco]

Thanks for your compliments and suggestions


Dump the Mr. Dudley mechanism and go with either a Chef Specialty or a CrushGrind.

Yeah, I know. Not knowing any better at the time, I had purchased a couple dozen of those Mr. Dudley mechanisms about 4 years back and had to use them up somehow! These were the last 3 I had. For my next mills, I'm using the stainless steel or crush grind mechanisms


Second....Make the voids in the mesquite work to your advantage. Instead of doing the coffee ground or sawdust or charcoal and epoxy filler, inlay some crushed turquoise or malichite with CA.

I have used powdered gemstones before and they went over really well. If the voids in the mesquite were a bit smaller, I would have used Turquoise or Malachite. But all I had on hand was Turquoise and Malachite dust. No way I was going to try and fill a void of that size with gem stone dust! It would have taken my whole supply of BOTH and not looked as clean (cause of the mixing of he colors). Maybe if I had been thinking clearer, I could have used Turquoise Inlace. I still have some of that left.

For filling fine cracks, CA glue is fine. But for something that will see daily use, has a larger crack/void, and might get dropped occasionally, I'd be a little worried. I was told that CA glue is somewhat brittle and when coupled with filling a void that big, there is a chance the CA glue and turquoise "plug" could fall out.

[Dominic Greco]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Those are some beautitul mills Dominic. Very nice work.

[Bob Hallowell]

Very nice mills, I really like the shape.

Bob

[Chris Barton]

Wow Dom! Those are great!

[Greg Savage]

I have used powdered gemstones before and they went over really well. If the voids in the mesquite were a bit smaller, I would have used Turquoise or Malachite. But all I had on hand was Turquoise and Malachite dust. No way I was going to try and fill a void of that size with gem stone dust! It would have taken my whole supply of BOTH and not looked as clean (cause of the mixing of he colors). Maybe if I had been thinking clearer, I could have used Turquoise Inlace. I still have some of that left.

For filling fine cracks, CA glue is fine. But for something that will see daily use, has a larger crack/void, and might get dropped occasionally, I'd be a little worried. I was told that CA glue is somewhat brittle and when coupled with filling a void that big, there is a chance the CA glue and turquoise "plug" could fall out.

Don't worry about the size of the voids....build up the inner area of the void with anything that you can....I've use everything from toothpicks to popsicle sticks to fiberlass......undercut the edge of the void slightly with something like a Dremel or turbo-carver and you won't have any problems with the plug falling out. As long as you give yourself 1/16-1/8in of depth, you won't be using too much turquoise.

[Glenn Hodges]

Dominic, these are beautiful. I like the design, I see why they sell so easily.