Pepper Grinder Help!

[Keith Weber]

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

[Joe Breid]

Keith,

To drill the hole I begin with a forstner bit in the tailstock of the lathe and drill to the depth that the forstner bit allows. I then switch to a spade bit and drill a little over halfway into the blank. A mark on the shaft of the bit lets me know when the hole is the right depth. I then remove the blank and remount from the other end and follow the same procedure. The two holes will line up almost perfectly and I end up with a wooden washer that is the shape of the end of the spade bit.

To keep the chips frpm building up when drilling with the spade bit I tape a small airline to the bit that is hooked to a valve on my air supply.

Also, I drill the 1 5/8" and 1 1/16" holes in the bottom before drilling the 1" hole through the length of the blank.

Joe

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Keith,

1. I usually rough turn the blank to a cylinder and mark where I plan on parting the top off. I then start the parting but also form a round tenon on the top ...then finish the parting.

2. I chuck the bottm portion of the pepper grinder in my SN2 chuck. I use a Jacobs chuck in my tailstock, drill the 1 5/8" and 1 1/16" holes to their indicated depths. Then I drill half way through the length of the blank using the 1" forstner bit and an extension if necessary.

3. I reverse bottom portion of the pepper grinder in the SN2 chuck and repeat the drilling process using the 1" forstner bit.

4. I make a jam chuck....jam chuck the bottom portion of the pepper grinder on to the jam chuck......mount the top portion onto the bottom portion of the pepper grinder....bring up the tailstock...and finish the turning.

5. I then drill the 1/4" IIRC through the top of the pepper grinder for the shaft of the mill using the jacobs chuck in the tailstock.


I sand through 400 grit before I start the finishing process.

As far as finish......I friction on a very light coat of BLO using a paper towel....apply it at a low speed ...very light coat....turn the speed up to high and friction it with a dry folded paper towel. The BLO IMHO pops the grain and deepens the color of the wood. Note during the frictioning process the wood will get hot....too hot to comfortably touch....that's normal...that's good...the heat cures the oil

I follow the BLO with a couple of frictioned coats of Zinzers Sealcoat dewaxed shellac....The shellac is applied like the BLO..Cover your lathe bed with a clean paper towel to catch the spinoff..pun intended..I turn the speed down..apply with a soaked piece of paper towel......Allow it to spin for 60 seconds or so...finish frictioning it in using a clean folded paper towel....Again at a high speed......becareful to not stay in one place too long or apply too much pressure...you can burn the shellac and have an unintended embellishment.

I then follow this with a couple of coats of Deft brushing lacquer...applied just like the BLO and shellac..frictioned.....except...I have the lacquer in a jar with a brush in it......

Using this frictioning process....you apply each finish immediately following the last one.....no waiting....the dewaxed shellac seals the BLO and the lacquer will stick to the dewaxed shellac.....The lacquer gives what I think is a fairly durable and good looking finish.

Good luck with your project!

[Robert McGowen]

I have made quite a few pepper mills, but have not used the kit that you have, so my answer may not be exactly what you are looking for.

You, of course, would like a perfectly centered hole from each end that meets in the middle. It probably won't matter a whole lot though, as long as the starting point from each end is in the middle of the blank. The holes in each end will be the center point from which the body is turned, so the entrance and exit holes will obviously be exactly centered when the turning is finished. The interior should be fine as long as the hardware fits in it and the peppercorns can pass through. You would have to be off by an awfully large amount for that not to be able to happen though.

Hope this helps and/or you understand what I am trying to convey.