When I saw that Lee Valley was selling parts to build a burr grinder, I was all over it. Mine just recently shipped and is yet to arrive. I'm curious if anyone else wants to share their ideas for a coffee mill- in part because I like seeing the creativity of others, and in part because I plan to shamelessly steal any ideas that are better than mine. :-)
For you non-snobs, just an fyi- a burr grinder crushes the bean into very uniform pieces that are large enough that they don't fit through the screen in a French press, thus eliminating the "sludge" often found at the bottom of your cup when using a French press and other types of grinders.
I have two ideas- the first being to just build the basic style coffee mill similar to their stock photo http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/pag...58&cat=51&ap=1 and use figured woods and maybe finally find a use for the Incra router fence that I just HAD to have; maybe do some double-dovetails. The other idea is to turn something out of this big block of macadamia wood that my wife bought for me one year and is constantly reminding me that I have yet to build something from it. The problem there is simply that I really am not a turner, and I let the thing dry completely. I think you're supposed to keep it moist for the initial turning. I may figure some way to use it.