First pepper mill

[DaveO]

Being inspired by Ed's beautiful pepper mills, I decided that I should give one a try. Here's my first attempt in laminated curly Maple -

And another shot with different exposure for photography critique -

I learned quite a bit doing this first one.

Pepper mills are often found turned from laminated stock, because they take a piece of stock greater than the standard 2" square stock normally sold :BangHead:

You need to have a lot of stuff to turn a pepper mill. I used almost everything in my turning arsenal - Drill chuck, Forstner bit extension, new cone center for my live center, two different sets of jaws for my 4-jaw chuck, and just about every sharp chisel in my possession.

Overall I am pretty happy with the results (even though my wife just informed me that see doesn't like pepper mills :eusa_doh I would have liked to have shaped the top better, but I parted it off too soon and had problems modifying it. And the nice curly figure from my best board was somewhat lost in the lamination and cylindricalization, which is a little disappointing.
It's finished with a little BLO to pop what's left of the curl, and several coats of gloss lacquer.
Thanks for looking, critiques and comment are always welcome (even those on my photography)

Dave

 

[erasmussen]

Dave if I could make one 1/2 that good i would be happy:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap
My wife dont like them eather:lol::lol::lol:

 

[FredP]

no critique needed dave!:icon_thum looks great. I'm still in the practice stage of turning!:roll: all my turnings have design enhancments!:rolf: but it's gettin better. one day i gotta get over there to watch the elves work!:lol:

 

[nelsone]

Hey Dave, that looks great! They are a challenge, aren't they! That is some pretty wood you used. Your top looks a lot more appropriate than my first!

 

[Jim M.]

WOW! Dave that's great, if you'd not said it was your first, we'd never known. Nice job, Jim :eusa_clap

 

[DaveO]

I'm still in the practice stage of turning!:roll: all my turnings have design enhancments!:rolf: but it's gettin better.

Oh, this puppy is a 9" pepper mill made with a 10" kit. The top need some shortening :BangHead: I was glad that Ed mentioned how easy it was to modify the shaft to accomodate those "design modifications"

Dave

 

[DaveO]

Your top looks a lot more appropriate than my first!

Maybe, but it's still is looking like a you-know-what
And it's shorter than I planned :crybaby2::crybaby2::crybaby2:

Dave

 

[woodArtz]

Good job Dave!!! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[JimmyC]

Dave,

I think the pepper mill looks great for a first, or second, or whatever time.
Just think, you may have finally found something that you can market, because your wife doesn't want it:lol:. Like I said, the mill looks great:eusa_clap, but we don't expect anything less from you.

Keep 'em coming.

Jimmy

 

[ebarr]

DaveO,

Looks great to me.

I haven't bitten off turning one yet simply because I don't have all those tools in my arsenal yet.

Then again, my first one might only cost me ~$100.00 :rolf:

Sort of like my first $500.00 Pen, or my $100.00 Duck Call or my ......:-D:-D:-D

 

[toolferone]

Looks good to me. Which mechanism did you use?

 

[DaveO]

Looks good to me. Which mechanism did you use?

The cheap 10" from Woodcraft...are you familar with it? :-D

Dave

 

[nelsone]

Maybe, but it's still is looking like a you-know-what
And it's shorter than I planned :crybaby2::crybaby2::crybaby2:

Dave

Napoleon complex???:rolf:

Glad the modification was able to work for you!

 

[DaveO]

Then again, my first one might only cost me ~$100.00 :rolf:

Oh, this pepper mill cost at least that much.
I bought a Jet live center with a 60º cone and larger cone $90. Then there was the 1 1/16" bit - $7.00, plus the bit extension ~$15.00. Not to mention the mech. itself at ~$15.00. Plus the lathe, chuck, drill chuck, chisels, and finishing supplies (of course those are good for a few other things;-)) Plus highly figured curly Maple at $9.00 a BF :roll::roll::roll::roll::roll:
Yea, this thing is worth it's weight in gold 8-O


Dave

 

[toolman]

Looks good to me Dave. :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[cskipper]

Dave, it looks great. Kind of fun/frustrating to find something new and challenging to try, huh?

 

[mcoston2]

Great job Dave. :eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[Splinter]

Looks good Dave. I have the kits to make some. Have tried a test one but the Cherry wood split. I wish I could get my beads to look like yours. I have trouble making two alike.

 

[sediener]

Looks good DaveO. How can she not like a peppermill??? Does she not like pepper?

Does anyone know where to get a kit with a good quality ceramic grind mechanism? I've got a mass produced grinder with ceramic innards and it is much more beefy than the steel ones. DaveO has inspired me....

- Steve

 

[DavidF]

Nice Job Dave! those beads are really very good. I agree that they are a more complex piece than you would first imagine. After the first couple of prototypes I made I actually wrote down a procedure so that the sequence of steps was recorded so that I could either hold onto something or maintain concentricity etc. It is very easy to do things in the wrong order and get into a corner it's difficult to get out of.