May 26, 2009 Making a 6 Peppermill Page 1 Acknowledgment is given to Jackie Johnson from Nashville, TN for providing the original instructions and method for this article. The design of this mill can be used for either a pepper or a salt mill. Materials List Caution: Always use safety glasses or a full face shield when turning anything on a lathe. Wood: 2 ½ x 2 ½ x 8 (minimum) and for two jam chucks. Drill Bits Equipment 1 5/8 Forstner to drill the base. Safety Drive 1 1/16 Forstner to drill the hole through the base. Scroll Chuck 1 3/8 Forstner drill the top of the mill for base shoulder. Revolving Live Center 7/8 Forstner drill hole for the mill turning mechanism. Jacobs Chuck 7mm Bit drill hole in the top for mill shaft to go through. Small Hand Saw 3/32 Bit for screw pilot holes. Electric Drill 1. Mark the center at each end of the wood blank and make an indentation with a sharp tool. Turn the wood round between centers (not less than 2 1/4 diameter) using a roughing gouge and create a tenon on one end for a scroll chuck. The tenon should be approximately 3/8 wide with a shoulder. NOTE: Emphasis is always on safety, so use a safety drive for turning wood between centers.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 2 2. Mount the wood, tenon end, in a scroll chuck, bring up the tailstock and true the blank. Slightly undercut (tailstock end) what is going to become the bottom of the peppermill. 3. Mount a Jacobs chuck in the tailstock with the 1 5/8 forstner bit and drill a hole 9/16 deep. HINT1: Slow the lathe down to about 500 rpm. HINT2: To stop the forstner bit vibrating as it enters the wood, first tighten the tailstock spindle. Then slacken the spindle just enough to move the forstner bit forward. 4. Remove the 1 5/8 forstner bit and replace with the 1 1/16 forstner bit. Drill a hole no more than 3 ½ from the base. HINT: Frequently back out the forstner bit to clear shavings, otherwise the bit will jam in the hole.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 3 5. Remove the forstner bit, and chamfer inside edges of the 1 5/8 and 1 1/16 holes using a small scraper. Sand the bottom of the wood smooth to 320 grit using sandpaper attached to a flat piece of wood. 6. Remove Jacobs chuck and replace with a cone revolving center, and bring the center into the bottom of the peppermill. 7. Mark the wood with the established body and top dimensions. For a 6 peppermill the measurements are: Length of base is 4 ¼. Mark 5/8 gap.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 4 8. At the top shoulder of the peppermill base make a parting cut to a diameter of 1 3/8 and 5/8 wide. HINT: This diameter must be accurate, so make and use a 1 3/8 diameter template for accuracy. It is better to make the diameter slightly larger than 1 3/8 and open up the recess described in section 9. below. Part off the base of the peppermill with a parting cut closest to the headstock leaving a 3/8 collar on the neck of the base. Finish parting with a handsaw. Drilling the Top 9. Leave the peppermill top in the scroll chuck, and insert a Jacobs s chuck into the tailstock with a 1 3/8 forstner bit. Drill a hole 7/16 deep into the bottom of the top. Use a sharp spindle gouge to cut the bottom ensuring the edge of the hole is slightly lower than the outside. Ensure the depth is still 7/16 deep and finally chamfer the inside edge. 10. Replace the 1 3/8 forstner bit with a 7/8 forstner bit, and drill a hole 1/8 deep. Move the tailstock away and use a bedan type tool to open up the 7/8 recess so that the drive plate will fit snugly.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 5 11. Put the 7 mm. bit into the Jacobs chuck and drill a hole all the way through the peppermill top. Sand the bottom of the peppermill top smooth to 320 grit using sandpaper attached to a flat piece of wood. Do not over sand. 12. Leave the top in the scroll chuck, and join the top and base together by inserting collar of the base into the bottom of the peppermill top. If the collar is too large, open up the 1 3/8 hole in the peppermill top for a tight fit. HINT: Be careful not to remove too much wood.
Final Drilling and Shaping the Peppermill Making a 6 Peppermill Page 6 13. Replace the Jacobs chuck with a revolving live center, and bring up the revolving live center to secure the top and bottom of the peppermill together. 14. From the bottom of the base measure the total length of the peppermill to be 6 plus or minus 1/16, and mark the top. Remove the base of the peppermill and part the top at the finished length. Use a hand saw to finish parting cut. 15. Make a jam chuck to fit snugly into the body of the peppermill base (see photo below) and secure into the scroll chuck. Mount the base of the body onto jam chuck and ensure a tight fit. The jam chuck should fit into the 1 5/8 base and into the 1 1/16 hole by about 1. 16. Insert the 1 1/16 forstner bit into the Jacobs chuck and drill the top of the body deep enough to meet the hole drilled from the bottom. Using a sharp spindle gouge smooth out the top of the shoulder slightly undercutting the shoulder i.e. the inside of the shoulder should be slightly lower than the outside.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 7 17. Put the top of the peppermill onto the collar end of the body and use a revolving live center to clamp the base and top together. Turn the base and the top of the peppermill to your desired shape, and sand to 400 grit. 18. Remove the top of the peppermill and support the base with the revolving live center. Re-cut the collar to a loose fit for a smooth rotation of the top. HINT: Be careful not to remove too much wood.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 8 Completing the Top 19. Make a jam top to fit snugly in the bottom of the top (see photo below) and secure in the scroll chuck. 20. Mount the top onto the jam chuck, and bring up the revolving live center to secure the top. Finish off the top by making light cuts. Sand the top of the peppermill up to 400 grit. 21. Remove the revolving live center and finish off the top to its final shape using light cuts. Sand to 400 grit. Finishing 22. Make a sanding rod (see photo below) with 220 grit sandpaper that is long enough to sand the length of the body. Insert the sanding rod in the scroll chuck and sand the hole in the body. HINT: It may be helpful to use the revolving live center to secure the sanding rod.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 9 23. Use a bottle brush or high pressure air to remove sawdust from inside the peppermill. Use cloth, soaked with salad bowl finish, to seal the inside. Finish the outside with several coats of your favorite finish, rub the outside with synthetic steel wool, and buff to a shine. Top Assembly 24. Insert the drive shaft through the drive plate and insert into the bottom of the top ensuring drive plate is snug. Drill 3/32 pilot holes through the drive plate and secure with two screws. HINT: Use a hand screwdriver to secure the screws. Remove drive shaft. Bottom Assembly 25. Place the peppermill bail into the base of the peppermill. 26. Slip both parts of the grinding mechanism over the drive shaft followed by the spring with the wider end pointing to the drive shaft threads. 27. Push the drive shaft into the bail ensuring the two grooves in the grinding mechanism lines up with the bail. Add the top to the peppermill and tighten. 28. Drill 3/32 pilot holes through the bail and place the retainer over the two holes. Attach the retainer with two wood screws. HINT: Use a hand screwdriver to secure the screws. 29. When the inside of the body is dry add peppercorns filling maximum space around the shaft. Enjoy fresh ground pepper.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 10 Salt and Peppermill Identification 1. To easily tell the difference between a salt and pepper mill one method is to use a dark and white wood to cover the metal knob on the lid of each mill. 2. Start by clamping a mill drive shaft in a scroll chuck and thread the metal knob on to the drive shaft and tighten. The metal knob is usually made of brass underneath a metal coating so it is possible to use a sharpened spindle gouge to cut the brass. 3. Turn off the brass to that the diameter along the length is just under 3/8th. 4. Select a dark and light wood for the pepper and salt knobs and cut ¾ square and 1 long. In the center of the square drill a 3/8 hole deep enough so that the metal knob is slightly below the surface.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 11 5. Screw the brass knobs onto each drive shaft. Liberally spread epoxy onto the brass knobs and in each hole in the wood. Push the brass knobs into each of the drilled wood blanks ensuring the brass knobs are just below the surface of the wood. Wipe off any excess epoxy. 6. After the epoxy has hardened place the drive shaft back into the scroll chuck and bring up the tailstock to hold the wood blank securely.
Making a 6 Peppermill Page 12 7. Cut the wood blank to the desired shape and length, and decorate, if required. 8. Remove the tailstock and complete by rounding over the top. Repeat the same procedure for the salt top. The tops for the salt and peppermills are complete.