Gen-X Designs

Welcome to Gen-X Designs, the maker of fine designer Peppermills from exotic and domestic hardwoods. The designing and making of a Peppermill is a beautiful thing; the choosing of the finest kiln dried hardwoods, the laminating process to ensure a lifelong bond between the woods, and the hours of hands-on work, guiding the tools to bring out the contours and beauty of the wood, fashioning a Peppermill that we are proud to sell, and that you will be proud to use and display. These Peppermills would make a great gift for that someone special. Each Peppermill is unique because they are hand turned and finished to give you a piece of art that you will be pleased to use, and that will enhance the beauty of your kitchen.

Each Peppermill begins with the selection of the wood. There are many exotic and local hardwoods available today. These come from all over the world. Such woods as Bloodwood, a beautiful deep, rich brick-red color, comes from tropical South America. Jatoba (also known as Brazilian Cherry), is a very hard deep red and brown, sometimes having black and golden tones. Each piece of wood is sized and planed to the desired thickness. It is then glued or laminated together with other species of wood to create the color combinations that are desired. Some woods glue easily with ordinary glue, whereas other exotic woods may contain oils that prevent regular glue from making a secure bond. These woods are glued with a special glue designed to bond to the oily woods.

Once the wood has been glued and clamped, it dries for 24 hours to cure the glue. The laminated stock is then ready to be worked on the lathe. This is where the creative side of making a Peppermill comes into play. When I start working with the wood on the lathe, I have no idea how the finished product is going to look. I let the tools and the wood work together to create a unique piece of art. This is where I can spend a lot of time, slowly shaping the wood, sanding and re-sanding it until a beautiful form appears, using many grits of sandpaper from 80 to 600, sanding until the desired smoothness is achieved.

It is now ready to be bored to accommodate the grinder mechanism. This is done on the drill press, using precise sizes as required.

After all the shaping, drilling and sanding are complete to my satisfaction, I am ready to apply the finish. This starts with a wood sealer, then the finishing coats, sanding, buffing and polishing until I am pleased with the final finish.

The hardened steel grinding mechanism is then fitted into the Peppermill. This mechanism is made of stainless steel, manufactured by a leading American manufacturer of Peppermills. Each Peppermill carries a lifetime warranty on the grinding mechanism. It is easily adjustable from a very fine grind to a coarse grind, simply by adjusting the knob on top of the Peppermill.

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