Just interested... to connect the motor to the grinder, are you going to use a belt or a gear system? And where do you get those parts that the belt would go on (aka, the gears or flat pulley). I was trying to find something like that for one of my side projects, but couldn't find them anywhere for a reasonable price.

The pulleys are timing belt pulleys, so they have grooves that mesh with teeth on the belt. They are a bit pricey, but should handle the torque. They are available from both sdp-si.com and mcmaster.com.

Just a mini update. Today I got off work early, so I did some sanding and dying of the top section pieces. The wood is maple and I am dying it a warm ebony black. I'm making it as dark as I can, but I didn't want it to have any leanings towards blueish-purple. The reason is I hope to inlay veneer panels on the front and sides with a Curly Etimoe veneer I have on hand that looks something like the photo below, and I wanted it to go well with the black.



Unfortunately, I have to sand, raise the grain, sand, then dye before I can glue up parts. This so that the glue wont' prevent dye absorption at the seams. Then I glue up, make cutouts, sand and dye some more. I'll eventually get there.

Ugh! Having issues with the wood not cooperating. Considered having structure machined, but that would be way outside of the budget. I have another idea that would solve the problem, but it's still pretty pricey. As they say, in for a penny, in for a pound.

Ok, I think I'm back on track now that I have switched the case material from maple to a solid surfacing countertop product. Here's a rough assembly to get an idea of what it's going to look like. The top section has not been cut to shape and the edges will need rounding. Still you can see where this is going.

One down, three to go. So much easier to work with this stuff.

With the top section cut to shape, there's plenty of access to pour in the beans now.



There's lots to do still, but this is the general shape of the grinder (without the lower funnel).

This project is so cool! Wish I had the skills (and time) to do something like this. Keep us updated with your progress.

Thanks for the comments and encouragement. Here are the cutouts I did this morning for the switch, belt and pulleys (from the underside).