On the road to a pepper mill, hopefully

I have been travelling quite a bit over the last few weeks, so I have not been doing much with the woodturning. The main project has been an attempt at a pepper mill, which (as stated in my last post) was not really going all that well. Since that post, I have watched a really good video on how to turn boxes, and some of the techniques in that DVD can probably be used in the pepper mill project.

I have also enlisted the help of my friend Kurt at Woodcraft. He is a great guy who attacks projects fearlessly and is always happy to help me and answer questions. When I explained to him my issues with the pepper mill project, Kurt first showed me the different qualities of different types of Forstner bits. The ones that I had bought were fairly cheap ($5-10 each), and unfortunately it seems that with these (as with most things) you get what you pay for. Kurt showed me some carbide-tipped Forstner bits that drilled like a dream. Of course, they are each over $25, and I have to see if I will be making enough pepper mills to justify purchasing them.

Being the adventurous type, Kurt decided to see if he could make a pepper mill using the instruction sheet from Woodcraft. He soon found that there were issues with the sheet! So, he has been working on a modified set of instructions for me. I hope to pick them up soon.

In the meantime, when at the Portsmouth Farmer's Market on Saturday, I got to talk with a guy who had his own booth there. He had all sorts of woodcraft on display - carving, turning, chainsaw-carving...all of it was beautiful. While we were talking, he told me about a place nearby that does woodworking courses. They have a Pepper Mill course on November 15th. I really want to do it...I think that once I do one, I should be okay with doing more. Unlike a lot of classes, which start about halfway through the project, this one seems to be a "beginning to end" course. Should be perfect.

He also told me about a place to get some wood - I found where the place is, but I have not been able to visit it yet. It might be a way to get some local wood for less money than I have been paying for the exotics from Woodcraft. The exotics are beautiful, but the local stuff can be gorgeous too, and finding less expensive materials is a good thing.

I have been commissioned to make a couple of pens, so I may go back to that for a week or two, and concentrate on making the pepper mill and maybe a box after the middle of November, assuming I take the course.

I have received some wonderful feedback from someone who just happened to find this blog online. I am very glad that I can have a positive effect on people whom I have never met. Although I was never sure it would happen, it was (and still is) one of the intended goals of this blog.