Claro Walnut Salt and Pepper Grinders

[Donna Ashby]

These grinders were made for a friend/coworker of mine to express appreciation for her selfless generosity. (I couldn't get her to take the money.)

They are made from claro walnut. The pepper grinder is 10.75" tall and the salt grinder is 9.75". They use the shafted version of the ceramic grinder mechanism that is sold by Woodcraft, PSI, Craft Supplies USA, and others I'm sure.

The gemstone cabochons on the top are 20mm snowflake obsidian and howlite. They were chosen to represent pepper and salt, but more importantly, to help distinguish which grinder is which at a glance.

To highlight the cabochons I formed silver rings to place around them. The rings were made from some argentium sterling silver wire I had leftover from a bracelet I made. Argentium is a relatively new form of sterling that doesn’t tarnish like regular sterling.

The finish on the grinders is General Finishes Salad Bowl Finish. They were then buffed with carnauba wax using the Beall system. (Thanks to SMC posters, I avoided using the white diamond compound. I decided to skip the tripoli as well.)

Thanks for looking.

Salt and Pepper Grinder 1A.JPG

Salt and Pepper Grinder 2A.JPG

[curtis rosche]

very nice, cant wait to see more

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very nice work Donna! Great design, beautiful wood and finish! I am sure your friend will cherish them! Seriously, very nice work! Looking forward to seeing more of your turnings!

[Tom Green]

Beautiful wood, beautiful job. I love the cabochons, nice touch.
Tom

[Benjamin Dahl]

Donna, those are really nice. Thanks for sharing.
Ben

[robert hainstock]

Those two are outstanding Donna I love the cabs, and the rings. You must do a little jewelry design too? they'lo be treasured for a very long time.
Bob

[Jason Solodow]

They were then buffed with carnauba wax using the Beall system. (Thanks to SMC posters, I avoided using the white diamond compound. I decided to skip the tripoli as well.)

Thanks for looking.

Why didn't you use the white diamond and tripoli? I use them all the time.....

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful wood and beautiful grinders. Well done.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Super design......geat wood and finish! Nicely done Donna!

[Matt Hutchinson]

What a great gift! The extra details really add to the design. Great work!

Hutch

[Donna Ashby]

Why didn't you use the white diamond and tripoli? I use them all the time.....

Those two are outstanding Donna I love the cabs, and the rings. You must do a little jewelry design too? they'lo be treasured for a very long time.
Bob

There were posts that talked about white diamond leaving white spots in the walnut pores. It can be very difficult to get out. The tripoli can be too aggressive on some finishes (or maybe I'm too heavy handed).

I do some jewelry work. Up until the rings for the grinders, I had relied on cold connections or using PMC (Precious Metal Clay) and kiln firing to form a bond. The rings were the first time I silver soldered with propane and a torch. Almost as addictive as woodworking.