Which wood?

The wood material for a mill could be of light or dark color, could be of local or exotic origin. A chosen piece of wood dictates size and form of the mill. Further considerations are: where will I mainly use it – at the table or in the kitchen and how many or which types of mills will I have – grinding pepper, salt, chili, or nutmeg.
The choice of wood also influences the possible form of the mill. For example: Plum is truly beautiful, however, the material available is small in size and consequently it isn’t possible to produce a mill with bigger dimensions. If a big mill is wanted, one needs to resort to wood from trees that have bigger trunks, e.g., cherry, apple, walnut or olive.
Plum serves also as a good example for another aspect to consider: this kind of wood often comes with cracks. Planks and pieces commercially available aren’t thick because the bigger the size the bigger the danger that the wood cracks. Consequently there is hardly any plum wood available that doesn't show cracks. That’s also the reason you will rarely find furniture built with this kind of wood. However, when turning wood, those cracks contribute to the individual character of the piece if the cracks have been closed professionally before.
This way, a defect can turn into an aesthetic aspect – and thereby develops into a point of beauty and interest. read more about material >>