Latest lighthouse peppergrinders

[Ronald Fox]

With the discussion of pepper grinders, I thought I would post a few pictures of my grinders. I have been having fun
making grinders based on lighthouses.
The Spiral bloodwood and maple grinder is based on the Cape Hateras lighthouse. It is one of my earlier lighthouses
and is 12" tall with a 3" base. I figured that a 3" base would be stable and not fall over on the table. I have been
using wipe on poly for the finish. I figured that the poly would help keep things like ketchup or mustard from
staining the wood.
I have just finished up my Cape Lookout (North Carolina) lighthouse. I had to make the base a little taller to fit the
Diamond design, and ended up making the top a little shorter and smaller to fit the kit. I think the top looks a
little small, I think if the base were narrower, it would look better.
The Cape Canavral (Florida) is my narrower design with a 2.5" base. It seems to be fairly stable on the table, so I
will probably start making my lighthouse shaped like this.
What do you guys think? Do you think that the narrower lighthouses look better?
Thanks,
Ron
IMG_0561.JPGIMG_0564.JPGIMG_0565.JPG

[Tim Leiter]

I personally like the third one. I don't know for sure if it is the thinner size or the cleaner looking segments that look better to me. Let's see what the majority of the other folks say but that's my vote, #3.............Tim.

[Dale Miner]

These are super.

[Jon Lanier]

Those are great! What a fantastic idea!

[Jim Watkins]

Those are awesome Ronald. Did you write your own plans up or go on the fly?

I like the spiral design but like the narrow base on the right for the shape.

[bob svoboda]

All so nice it's difficult to choose. My eye seems to favor #1 though. Very nice work!

[Bill Bulloch]

You did a nice job on all three. I like the thicker ones better and the first one the best. I make all my pepper mills thicker; I call them man size pepper mills. Men do cook, I'm told.

[Jim Burr]

Glad to see you making those again Ron...that is real artwork! I hate to think of the time investment in those, but it sure is good to see the result!

[Ronald Fox]

They are my own design, with the help of some software (WOODTurner Pro) to help me size the layers and visualize the patterns. The nice thing about the lighthouses is that they are really just a cylinder so all of the discs layers start out the same diameter. There is some waste, but I can just spend an afternoon cutting a whole bunch of wood wedges that are the same size, and fill up a few large shoe boxes with the wedges. Then I just spend a few evenings gluing those pieces back together again, lol.

[Jay Yoder]

What a great idea! They all are cool! I prefer the wider base, gives it a manly feeling (insert Tim Allen grunt here). Do you sell them? If so, what price you get for them?

[John C Lawson]

I like the look of Cape Lookout best, but I think the narrower form of Cape Canaveral would be more convenient as a pepper mill. There are lots of other lighthouses you could make. For a real challenge, how about New London Ledge?

http://www.lighthouse.cc/newlondonledge/

[Ronald Fox]

I really haven't tried selling the lighthouses, but I would have to admit I have thought about selling them. I am not really sure how much to ask for them. There is a ton of labor involved in just getting it to the point of turning it. I guess if someone were to offer me $200 for one, I think I would part with it, lol.
Ron

[Jon Lanier]

I really haven't tried selling the lighthouses, but I would have to admit I have thought about selling them. I am not really sure how much to ask for them. There is a ton of labor involved in just getting it to the point of turning it. I guess if someone were to offer me $200 for one, I think I would part with it, lol.
Ron

I was thinking $200 - $250 for sure when I first saw them. If you put them in a Gallery, probably around $500+.