Pepper mill

[Tiger]

I've got a couple of pepper mill kits, one from Pop's Shed, the other from Carbatec.
The one from Carbatec has what can be loosely described as instructions but is no real help, the other from Pop's Shed is a 5 inch version made in Denmark with no instructions at all. I had a go at the 5 inch version but found that there was only a little amount of thread poking out at the top but not enough to secure the little nut. So back to the lathe and take a bit off the top piece so that the nut goes on. Having done that I notice that the top piece of the mill and the bottom pieces have a gap and turning the nut makes no difference to either the mechanism or bringing the two pieces together for a tighter fit.

For those that make these sorts of things what are the critical measurements, ie lengthwise that you need for a well functioning mill, I'm comfortable with the inside bores as that's all done according to the mechanism diameters?

[gawdelpus]

Tigar are these the instructions you refer to from carba-tec ,pretty straight forward if so.

The one from pops shed is certainly lacking in info, I only have made pepper grinders with the ceramic crush mills , I would suggest you check other sites for a similar mill, and see if there are instructions you can use . cheers ~ John

Found this ,it might help as well Instructions GPW

[Tiger]

Thanks John, I bought mine from Carbatec a few years ago and they lacked any detail so yours is very helpful. I can work out all the bore details from the mechanisms supplied, where I went wrong was the overall length of the unit so that the brass cap at the top works properly ie holds the head on properly and allows you to vary the grinding thickness. Be nice to have some sort of formula along the lines of if the mechanism is "x" long then the mill has to be "y" long but I haven't been able to find such a formula during my searches.

[Mulgabill]

Tiger!
If you are using the GWP type ceramic grinder fittings the shaft can be easily shortened to suit.

[Tiger]

Mulgabill, not the GWP type, spoke to Pop's Shed and they said that the rod could not be shortened (however I think it could be). The rod is aluminium and one end is flared and the other end is a threaded square section.

[gawdelpus]

Tiger as I said I have only used the crushgrind types that can be any length you want ,I am currently trying to finish a new type today, the mechanism is all at the bottom of the mill ,no centre shaft and no set size or length ,the adjustment for these grinds is a ratchet type in the bottom , once you have the setting you want it stays till you change it no little screws to lose hehe. Cheers ~ John

[brendan stemp]

My advice is swap to the Crushgrind mechanisms. However, given you have the mechanisms I know they can be shortened. When I used to use them I used two methods: cut the top of the shaft and re tap it. This is the best method but if you don't have the equipment to do this then you can cut the bottom and re flair it by squashing it in a engineering vice.