Salt and pepper grinders

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These were part of a Beer & BBQ swap we did earlier in the year over on another site. They’re just the one-handed grinder kits from Woodcraft and were add ons tp the main project. Pretty simple to spin up on the lathe. Kinda like making one of those super fat pens that Pottzy likes ?

I used holly and ebony as accents to differentiate between salt and pepper, since these are designed to be used out at the grill with beer in hand. I figured I’d make it easy for my swap partner to use ?

Sapele, finished with a friction polish on the lathe then sprayed with lacquer.  


Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

wow getting flash backs from a couple years ago when i made 10 pairs out of cocobolo for xmas. nice job ryan.

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

These are very nice RyanGi! I was looking at HobieKen's posting yesterday and got interested in these for a project for a couple family members this year and I was looking at the kits on various sites and reading the instructions and the reviews. I usually follow the instructions the first time then modify from there. There were two complaints from reviewers - one was the mechanism binding inside which Kenny cleared up. The other was when you turn the ends of the blank down to the recommended size per the instructions there is almost nothing left and the failure rate is high. I love the way you left extra material on the top and the bottom and added the details to make it look attractive. I was contemplating something similar and trying to visualize what it would look like, you beat me to it. Thanks.
Thanks. These are the first set I made, but I figured they’re a one handed operation which means they need to fit in your hand properly. I turned the first one and kept ‘gripping’ it until it felt solid and controllable in one hand. 

FWIW, I filled them with full pepper corns and course sea salt (like the stuff that’s slightly larger than a BB). The grinding mechanism is just a course pattern on a shaft that is driven down into a tapered cut. The pattern on the shaft grabs the salt or pepper and pulls it down into the funnel where it pretty much pulverizes it. So, if you use a product that’s too big, it won’t get ‘gripped’ properly. Too small and it won’t really grind…just kinda passes through. Not that it’s hard to find the right size, but that’s what I found about the mechanics of it. They’re pretty simple! Pro-tip, use epoxy. 

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

I like the accents in these Ryan, great job. I ordered mine from PSI.

Main Street to the Mountains