It takes 10 to 13 work days to handcraft each of my Designer Pepper Mills.
Day 1, The wood to be used is selected, cut and glued. The glue I use
is a permanent bonding waterproof glue that requires 24 hours to cure.
The next several days are spent cutting and glueing until the pepper mill
blank is complete with all the various woods to be used.
The next day, the center hole is drilled and made ready to turn on the
lathe.
The next day, the wood is turned on the lath to create the top and the
body of the pepper mill. Both components are sanded. The sanding is done
on the lath but it takes much longer than the shaping of the components.
I begin with 80 grit and finish with 600 grit with many other grits in
between. A great finish begins with a thorough sanding. After the sanding,
a grain filler is applied to the outside and allowed to dry over night.
The next day, begins with sanding with several grits of sand paper. The pepper mill is finally ready to be sprayed with the first coat of lacquer. Several hours later the mill is hand rubbed and another coat of lacquer is applied and allowed to dry over night.
The next several days begins with hand rubbing and spraying with another
coat of lacquer. Several hours later, it's hand rubbed again and sprayed
with another coat of lacquer.
The finishing process continues daily until the pepper mill has a finish like a fine musicial instrument.
A hand rubbed lacquer finish is the most elegant finish there is.
The final step is installing the stainless steel grinder mechanism. The mechanism is made by Chefs Specialties, the oldest and largest maker of pepper mill grinders in the USA.
My goal is to make durable, functional, heirloom Quality Pepper Mills that
look like a "Work of Art".
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