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colh
9th September 2003, 02:58 PM
For anyone interested in turning pepper mills, the current edition of Practical Woodworking has an interesting article which sets out a process with fewer setups than some others I've seen. In particular, the whole of the body is bored and turned from a single setup gripped at the top, whereas a previous article I suggested in one of these threads needed gripping from both ends, plus temporary mandrels.

Looks like I'll have to find myself a forstner bit extension bar ...

cheers

Colin

Sir Stinkalot
9th September 2003, 03:25 PM
Thanks Colin,
I am in the same boat .... I am making my Sister a pepper mill for her birthday (July :) ) and after buying the mill parts .... followed by the forstner bit .... and now after starting I have to go out and get the forstner bit extension bar. I will have to grab a copy of Practical Woodworking as it may give me some ideas.


Stinky

colh
9th September 2003, 03:54 PM
Hi Stinky

hopefully that's next July, not last July? And you realise of course that as soon as people see the one you've done, there will be hints coming thick and fast as to how "I'd like one of those ...".

Fortunately my first one, which was for SWMBO, came out so well that she suggested I make the next few as gifts for her to give to people. I think I'm up to about number 15 since January this year.

good luck with it

Colin

Sir Stinkalot
9th September 2003, 04:53 PM
Good work ... after 15 you should be the pro .... any chance of a few photos.

Yes the birthday was last July ..... its a family tradition. I told the GF that I would make her a wine rack for christmas 2001 ..... then for her birthday 2002 (April) I told her I would fill it up (70 odd bottles) .... and now for Christmas 2003 I plan to deliver on my promise :D

I expect that there will be a few more grinders given away at Christmas as the old pen gift is starting to run a little thin.

Stinky :D

Zed
9th September 2003, 05:05 PM
thats all well and good but do you at least get a pair of undies in return ? or perhaps a cyclonic vacuum cleaner ?
:D

Sir Stinkalot
9th September 2003, 05:46 PM
I get more tools to help finish the wine rack :D :D :D

beiffe
9th September 2003, 06:46 PM
I use an old morse taper drill about 1" and it gives about 9 inches of effective hole. You can often find them at markets etc and they a bueat as they tend to drill true. Lots cheaper if you can find them. About a 1" hole is enough to get the pepper through with a larger bore for storage with the forstner bit if you want it.
I also bought a long bit at the wood show about 1" x 18" long but most of the drill has about a 1/4" shaft so can get a wip up. If I want a long hole I bore with the morse taper as far as I can go and then finish with the new drill.
Was unable to buy a forstner extension so getting one made. Don't tell the boss.

gatiep
9th September 2003, 09:25 PM
Hi Stinky

My favourite promise is: "Yeah, you'll have it be the long weekend"

I just never stipulate which long weekend.

I think Practical W Worker is going to sell out soon as I'm off to get one too.

Have fun!

DanP
9th September 2003, 11:26 PM
Available from Timbecon (http://www.timbecon.com.au) for $23.90. Postage would be about $5 or 6. Item Number: EXTN-1. 160mm long by 18mm diameter.

Dan

gatiep
10th September 2003, 12:12 AM
I noted today that the Perth Carbatec has the 16 piece Imperial Forstner Style bit set for $55-00 on special. I grabbed one, it goes from 1/4" to 2 1/8" in increments of 1/8".

Peppermills, here I come.

Have fun

Jim Carroll
10th September 2003, 08:25 AM
Another easy way of making your pepper mills is using the Eye Lock Mandrel. You drill a 20mm hole in your material to the depth required and then mount the material onto the mandrel,drill a 6mm hole in top to the depth of your capstan, turn the complete shape, part of the capstan, drill out the balance of the mill cut your spigot. then reverse your base, complete the bottom of your mill and all finished.For more info refer http://au.store.yahoo.com/cws-store/saltpeppermill.html
I hope this helps

colh
11th September 2003, 10:11 AM
Hi all

I managed to borrow a digital camera so I humbly offer the attached pic. all are gifts or commissions except the brown one (Tassie blackwood, 30 cm) which is the first one I made (for SWMBO).

the pale mills are all Jacaranda. The tallest ones are 43 cm, the one with the Tassie blackwood top is 35 cm, and the shorter ones are 28 cm.

the piece de resistance is the purple one - purpleheart, 30 cm.

they all use the danish mechanism, and they are all made by boring from both ends then mounting between centres on temporary mandrels to finish the outsides.

comments welcome

Colin

colh
11th September 2003, 10:28 AM
Rats! what seemed like a simple process to attach a file didn't work, and I can't immediately figure out why.

Its a .jpg file of 44kb.

I presume the "Preview Reply" option should show me if the pic has been successfully attached?

Any ideas?

Colin

colh
11th September 2003, 10:35 AM
Huh?? next challenge: figure out what I did different that time!

While I'm at it I'll try another picture of some assorted bowls, ranging from Jacaranda to a piece of old railway sleeper.

cheers

Colin

Sir Stinkalot
11th September 2003, 11:55 AM
Colin,
The Purple heart looks great .... I have only ever used it in pens before and as I was trying so hard I managed to stuff them all. I have read on a site somewhere that there is a monster mechanisim around ...... around 2' if I remember correctly ... it could be some fun ... its only the central shaft that changes length. I am off to get the mag recommended this lunch time.

Stinky

colh
11th September 2003, 12:32 PM
A Hunter Valley woodturner at the Newcastle Wood and Craft show was telling me about making 3-foot pepper mills:

he buys the 17" danish mechanism and extends it with a length of stainless steel tube. And rather than bore three feet long, he slices the timber up the middle, routs a groove in both halves and glues it back together - shades of a standard lamp!

An interesting thought: if you've done enough pens and progressed to 2-foot pepper mills, what's next - telegraph poles?

Colin

colh
16th September 2003, 11:47 AM
I tried out the Practical Woodworking pepper mill process over the weekend, with a piece of black hearted sassafras.

Result: compared with my previous process of boring from both ends and setting up on temporary mandrels to finish the outside, it was quicker, with fewer changes of setup and a lot less fiddly. The only temporary piece needed is a jam chuck to hold the top.

Also, the forstner bit plus extension bar cut a much cleaner hole that the auger bit I have previously been using.

The downside is that it needed 1 or 2 cm more waste on each piece than my previous process (depending how close you want to work to the chuck jaws). This might be an issue if its a case of getting the most out of the block of wood you have.

I can confirm that the process is worth a try.

Colin

Sir Stinkalot
16th September 2003, 12:39 PM
Good news about the mills Colin.
Which issue of practical woodworking are you refering to? I went and had a look the other day and the issue that they had didn't have the mills in it. Which month does it come under?

Thanks

Stinky

colh
16th September 2003, 12:54 PM
Stinky

I thought it was the August edition - I didn't buy it, I was shown it by a workmate who will now check it for me over night.

cheers

Colin

colh
17th September 2003, 11:06 AM
Stinky et al

confirming that the pepper mill process I was referring to is in the August 03 edition of Practical Woodworking. The article is called "Summer seasoning" by Chris Child and starts on page 28.

cheers

Colin

Sir Stinkalot
17th September 2003, 11:41 AM
Thanks Colin,

I will go back to the newsagents and check it out.

Stinky.

DanP
18th September 2003, 01:41 AM
Hi,

Could anyone with the magazine give me a web address for the mag? Local newsagent does not stock it (we only have one newsagent). Google was no help. Thanks in advance,

Dan