| Project by scottb | posted 189 days ago | 299 views | 2 times favorited | 16 comments |  |
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These stoppers are a gift for my Uncle who’s had a great first year or so making great wines over in CA.
This is my first (and second) go at trying these stoppers. Having seen chrome ones flake apart in my kitchen, I went right for the stainless steel ones – Can’t have a gift flake apart for someone who’ll be putting these into frequent use!
I had some trouble at first tapping the blanks to sit tightly on the mandrel. (no instructions with the kit, and the site implied using a drill, or the lathe to tap. No good. I tried doing it manually to better results, but found that with cherry, even tapping by hand it was too loose and the stopper bottom didn’t thread on so much as just push in/pull out. Instead of running out to get the next size down, I just drilled the next blank, and forced it onto the threaded mandrel and it worked! The oak blank was much tougher to do this way, the tap had to be called in. I wonder if using 5/16ths with some woods and 3/8ths with others will be in order? Time will tell – I have a few more kits to turn.
Anyhow, after solving the problem of mounting them on the lathe, (short of just working between centers – which wouldn’t leave them threaded for the stopper bottom anyhow) these were a piece of cake.
The first is cherry, the log has a really cool “patchy” look to it, and might be lightly spalted. The second is oak. The wood was definitely under some stress when it grew here's the log before it hit the lathe – really, really cool grain on that firewood save.
Both shapes were turned to whatever shape whim and wood decided – the base on the cherry was a little small as I forgot to put the spacer on the mandrel when I chucked it. I still think it looks good though. The finish is 3 coats of walnut oil, which took some nice looking wood and made it gorgeous.
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh
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16 comments so far
trifern
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3418 posts in 219 days
posted 189 days ago
Very cool projects. They look like fun. I plan on getting into turning soon.
-- Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.
Scott Bryan
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8584 posts in 273 days
posted 189 days ago
Scott,
These are gorgeous. The grain patterns on the stoppers are wonderful.
Thanks for the post.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
jimp
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36 posts in 213 days
posted 189 days ago
Very Nice! I really like the cherry wine stopper. If you are using a 3/8”- 16 TPI tap, try using a 11/32” drill bit. This might help with you tapping issue. This is what I use, and I haven’t had any issues tapping the wood for my wine stoppers.
itsme_timd
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412 posts in 282 days
posted 189 days ago
Wow, very nice stoppers Scott – thanks for sharing.
-- Tim D. - Woodstock, GA
scottb
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2885 posts in 779 days
posted 189 days ago
Thanks for that suggestion jimp… I think I was using the bit they sent along with, but between that one, and the ones that I got for 3 or 4 different pen kits, it’s possible I’m off a smidge.
I’ve got enough of that cherry to make a few more for myself, and also get some pens too.
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh
MsDebbieP
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11657 posts in 612 days
posted 189 days ago
these will be greatly appreciated, I’m sure. Beautiful, personalized art pieces.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
rikkor
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7201 posts in 326 days
posted 189 days ago
Great stoppers, Scott. Keep posting what you do with that cherry, it’s gorgeous.
-- Maplewood, MN
Joel Tille
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200 posts in 696 days
posted 189 days ago
Scott – Nice Bottle Stoppers. Thanks for the link to the Stainless ones and the comment on the chrome ones. I have a friend in CA who always has wine on hand. I will have to make some for him, but I did notice that you must have bought them all as they are currently out of stock. His birthday isn’t until June so I have time.
-- Joel Tille
scottb
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2885 posts in 779 days
posted 189 days ago
;)
Joel, I bought 10 back in Nov (along with the rest of the world) I got parts of the kit (them, and the drill bit, but the mandrel was back ordered until March (but fortunately it came in early.) Lesson learned – plan way ahead for Christmas. Those easy, last minute ideas are often on everyones to-do list! (I should have known better when I saw the “out of stock/backordered until Jan” signs on several turning projects at Woodcraft after Thanksgiving. (Nothing like stretching Christmas out until March, eh?)
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh
darryl
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794 posts in 778 days
posted 189 days ago
I got some of these kits back in early Dec also. I need to get the tap though, I couldn’t get the walnut I was trying to use to thread onto the mandrel. live and learn, I’ll get ‘em done eventually.
Yours came out nice. I do like the look of the grain in the cherry.
-- ~ www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.woodworkingdungeon.blogspot.com ~
RobS
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1087 posts in 758 days
posted 189 days ago
Nice job and good looking wood, although, I’m still trying to figure where your bottles were running off to before you made these..?? Is there a big problem with that in NH?
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
mjlauro
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190 posts in 213 days
posted 189 days ago
Another great turning exhibit, nice work.
Nils
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106 posts in 316 days
posted 189 days ago
Very nice looking pieces. I love that you include the background about these beautiful pieces of wood.
-- Nils Davis, Menlo Park, CA
Karson
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12736 posts in 852 days
posted 188 days ago
Scott A great job on the turning. Some nice wood there.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
relic
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315 posts in 388 days
posted 185 days ago
Scott the stoppers are nice and I really like the spalted cherry.
-- Andy Stark
WayneC
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5689 posts in 549 days
posted 183 days ago
They look great Scott.
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov