Turning bottle stoppers

This is what I use to turn my bottle stoppers. Click here

-- look Ma! I still got all eleven of my fingers! - http://www.termitecrafts.com

Yeah I have a bottle stopper mandrel and it works great if I am using those chrome stoppers that screw on. But I am having problems with the other kind that go on a half inch dowel.

Chuck the dowel in the headstock’s chuck and then use a live center in the tailstock to hold the back end as long as possible. You should be able to get most of the bottle stopper turned before you have to part of the tail stock’s waste.

You might check out some of Ron Brown's DVDs.

-- Jesse, Saint Louis, Missouri

one turner I was talking to sujusted cuting a peice of 1/2” all thred rod to use as a mandrel in the jacobs chuck. I havent tried this my self but might work or you can buy a pin mandrel sized for 1/2” or eavean makew one your self take a peice of 1/2” all rod mill a small flat about 1/4” in from the end about 3/4” – 1” wide and deep enough so you can slide a blank on with the 1/8” pin in the flat so it pinches up to hold the blank with a slight turn . you will want to mark the top side of the mandrel to locate the pin on the top so you wont lose the pin on the floor

Hope this will help

I have the PSI chuck/mandrel posted above, it works awesome and is EXTREMELY simple. PSI shows out of stock but I am pretty sure woodcraft also carries it (I bought mine in the store).

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

I use the Ruth Niles Morse taper mandrel. Linkhttp://www.nilesbottlestoppers.com/stoppers.html#Special.

-- Bondo Gaposis

Thanks for all the help guys. I think I have it figured out now.