pepper mills - how i make them

Dan Noren

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well gang, since this had quite a few pictures, they will be posted in 3 posts (this being the first). to get started, i wanted to show the save of the very first bench that i had made. our dad used it, and abused it with his can crushing, and general taking apart of metal things. he was going to take it apart and cut it up, but i said i could use it as a portable bench for my tools while i did my turning. i guess since it wasn't a new bench, he couldn't grouse too much. in the next couple of photos, the flame birch blanks living up to their names, and the behemoth, that is how i lovingly refer to my lathe platform. the mini lathe on the end is going to one of pop's neighbors as soon as h makes up his mind. you can see in the picture of the blanks, i have already taken care of turning them to round. the next ones show how i line up the blank between the chuck and the live center, to maintain a somewhat true line. the next ones show the blank chucked up, and ready to turn, then i turn several notches to the overall outside diameter of 2.5", and the blank turned down to that diameter. the last 3 pictures show the marking of the overall height at 4", the set up for the beads at the top and bottom, and the turned beads.
 

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ok, here we are in part 2 of 3. the next pictures show the lineup hole for the indent is laid out, the forstner bit (2") ready to drill, and then lined up with the blank. the next ones show the finished indent for the mill mechanism, a test fit of the mechanism, and the notches for turning the middle down to the desired 2" diameter. the next pictures show the finished middle diameter, and just because i'm me, i like to part it down a bit before i start the sanding, and the final sanding to 600 grit. the last one shows the start of the finishing process, which is a good coat of my pen finish.
 

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now for the third and final part. once i have given the sanded turning a good coat of my pen finish, i buff it out for a minute or so. we see in the pictures, that a good heavy coat of hut hard (white) finish has been applied, and buffed out. the pictures now show the parted off pepper mill base, getting ready to drill the hole, and with the hole drilled. then there you have it, the finished pepper mill in flame birch. all i need do now, is to drill the pilot holes for the screws, give the screws a dab of vaseline, and the pepper mill is done.
 

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Nice mill and tutorial Dan!! I was wondering if it wouldn't be easier to drill the core on the lathe rather than the drill press. Just wondering!
 
Nice tutorial, Dan. I've not done this type of mill before, but I was wondering why you drill the main cavity hole on the drill press instead of the lathe. Is there any reason not to drill that hole right after you drill the larger recess hole for the mechanism?

Also, I noticed you're not using a tenon at the end to hold the blank. You'll get a much more secure mounting if there is a shoulder for the face of the chuck jaws to register to.

Chuck Tenon Grip2.jpg

Also, by having the tenon a bit smaller diameter than the rest of the blank, it will mate up with the curvature of the chuck jaws much better. As it is in the photos you showed, each chuck jaw only has two points of contact with the wood. With a smaller diameter tenon, that contact could be made with a much larger surface area.
 
you have a point there vaughn, the next 3 will have tenons on their ends. as for the main cavity, i drilled it out exactly once on the lathe, and did not like the results when i parted off. the hole at the bottom was a bit on the ragged side after parting off. i drill the cavity on the drill press because i can set the speed a bit lower than the lowest speed on the lathe, and avoid the bit heating up.
 
...i drill the cavity on the drill press because i can set the speed a bit lower than the lowest speed on the lathe, and avoid the bit heating up.

That's an excellent reason. :yes:

I forgot to mention earlier that I really like the beaded design you're using on these mills. :thumb:
 
thanks vaughn and ryan! the best part of all is this is just the way i make them. this can be used as a starting point for others to experiment with different designs and shapes. with the inset in place, and the through hole drilled (on lathe or drill press), just about any shape is possible.
 
finally got back to the shop. first thing i had done was to finish off the other 3 pepper mills. someone asked me the other day how long it takes to make a pepper mill like this. just for the fun of it, for the last one i downloaded a free stopwatch app for the somewhat smart phone. from the time i hit the switch, to the time i had it finished and parted off took just a little over 25 minutes. that flame birch worked out pretty good.
 

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Dan,
Great tutorial... nice step by step.... really nice finished product...
I don't make this style of pepper mill, but I do like them.... I usually only make the crush/grinds and lately have made the little mini mills with the crank handle... my friend does make the "antique" style like yours, but he makes the indent on the top the size of the round part and then drills 4 separate little holes for the nibs where the screws go....

Only other thing I would do differently and this is just me, not saying anything about your procedures, but I would drill the hole through the mill and turn the mill around the hole... again, that's just me because I tend to be off center if I go round first... measure-mentally challenged evidently....
 
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