Today in the shop (turning a bottle stopper)

[reible]

Since there has been some interest in this subject I'm going to attempt to do a bit of a tutorial on bottle stopper turning, see this thread:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/begin ... 19294.html

I will also be checking out a Ruth Niles mandrel which I jut got back on this past Monday. I have a previous experience with some general purpose such mandrels I made for myself and purchased another designed version that Ruth sells. I've also designed and had made for me a shopsmith version. While some of this might be new to you I've played with it before.

I also buy my stopper stuff from Ruth so what ever or where ever you get your supplies the dimensions may be different so keep that in mind. I don't recall which catalogs have Niles stoppers for sale but there are other places that sell them as well as her direct sales. While not named as such the Rockler one I think is hers:

http://www.rockler.com/stainless-steel-bottle-stopper

There are a lot of models/styles of these but for this tutorial I'm using up the 4 I have left from a couple of years back. If you go another route again this can be quite different then what I'm showing. You can find these listed as SS-301 on Ruth's site:

http://nilesbottlestoppers.com/stoppers.html

Wood wise I have a piece of "unknown" which I believe I've identified. See this thread:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/gener ... 19278.html

I also have some Wenge, both woods are new to me so I have no idea how well they are turn or work for the project. Only time will tell.

Wood wise you need something that is in the 2" x 2" x 3" range. Depending on what you want to end up with either more or less material can be made to work. I will be using the blanks I have that are about twice as long and turning them round before I turn them in to stopper size blanks.

To do this I will set up the shopsmith like this:

IMG_3215sc.jpg (226.4 KiB) Viewed 36237 times

From left to right, the chuck is the SuperNOVA2, the drive center is also a Nova product, this one is the 7/8" Flexible Center. Then the live Nova center in the tail stock.

Of course before mounting you need to check center to center like this:

IMG_3216sc.jpg (223.52 KiB) Viewed 36237 times

This shopsmith has the lift assist so using the chuck and this live center makes it a bit easier to do, almost like not having that lost space.

Centers marked on the work piece then mount it:

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Then turn, ending with it looking like this:

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To late to do anymore tonight so we will take this up again tomorrow.

Ed

[reible]

Since I'm still awake I think I'll cover a few other points on the subject yet today.

Here is a photo of the stainless steel stopper with o-rings. As you can see the attachment for things like wood is a screw threaded stud. In this case it is a 3/8-16 and about a 1/2" long.

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The drill that comes with the mandrel is a 11/32" stub bit. This is the pilot hole we will be using for the threaded portion of the stopper.

Since the mandrel we will be using has a thread cutting stud we will do the tapping as we mount the work piece. The stud length for the mandrel is 5/8" so the hole we need to drill has to be slightly longer then 5/8".

The body of the stopper measured at the top (where it mounts to the wood) is around 13/16". I like to slightly recess this part into the wood portion of the stopper and I think 7/8" gives a good fit without the chance that it will interfere. I'm going to shoot for a depth of 1/16" or slightly more. Hard to hold a photograph but this is stopper part I'm describing:

IMG_3220sc.jpg (161.62 KiB) Viewed 36213 times

Some of this might be confusing at this point but once I'm making one and get some pictures up here it will make more sense.

Ed

[reible]

This is my new mandrel:

IMG_3212sc.jpg (92.1 KiB) Viewed 36211 times

It comes with the 5/32" standard shopsmith size Allen (to the right) wrench which I'll throw in the drawer with all the others and just use the one I use on the shopsmith.

It mounts on the shaft and comes off with a "pop" like one would expect a good fit to do. It is actually feels quite massive, just over 11 oz. of steel there.

The set screw is angled and it even has the correct tip as seen here:

IMG_3214sc.jpg (119.65 KiB) Viewed 36211 times

In this photo you can see the portion that cuts the threads in the wood.

IMG_3213sc.jpg (104.77 KiB) Viewed 36211 times

Over all it has the feel of quality and I'm really excited to get a stopper mounted and do some turning with it.

Ed

[ecom1]

Thanks Ed, looking forward to more!

[dannyshamoon]

THANKS ED for the education. I appreciate your efforts
Danny

[reible]

We haven't gotten to far and I was thinking that maybe I should mention that if you don't have the same tools I do you can either get them or make do another way. Like when I'm doing the rounding of the 6" long blanks you can actually just chuck the square as shown here:

IMG_3221sc.jpg (280.86 KiB) Viewed 36118 times

Keep in mind that this length is just how I purchased the wood. If you buy blanks for bottle stoppers you will already have a ready to go length. I've even seen some that are already rounded for you.

Now back to this program.

With blank turned round it's time to cut them to length. Since it's already on the lathe you can just find the center and cut away.

IMG_3222sc.jpg (264.94 KiB) Viewed 36118 times

I finished the separation with a saw and then turned the other blank. Now I have 4 blanks as seen here:

IMG_3223sc.jpg (296.65 KiB) Viewed 36118 times

Now it is time to chuck up one and get to the business of making a bottle stopper. I've moved to using the chuck jaws and am still using the tail stock as seen here:

IMG_3224sc.jpg (268.92 KiB) Viewed 36118 times

When re-chucking and finding a new location for the tail stock it will most likely need to be turned a bit to get it back in alignment. Just a fact of life in most cases or at least it seems that way to me. As you can see it doesn't take much.

IMG_3225sc.jpg (252.04 KiB) Viewed 36118 times

This is also a good time to do the end and get it square again.

With the tail stock still supporting things I then start giving the blank a shape. The tail stock side will be were the bottle stopper will screw in so keep that in mind, well unless you don't have any plan in mind then just have fun.

IMG_3226sc.jpg (277.75 KiB) Viewed 36118 times

At this point we are going to loose the tail stock and do some drilling. If you wish you could turn the small indentation but I like to use a 7/8" bit to do so. About a 1/16" or so deep, no need to measure.

IMG_3228sc.jpg (283.14 KiB) Viewed 36118 times

I'm going to take a few minutes to have my coffee before it get any colder but rest assured we will get through this whole process today.

Ed

[reible]

With the recess cut it is time to put in the hole. If you get this mandrel it comes with the stubby bit you need. If you recall from an earlier post we know that the threaded part of that mandrel is about 5/8" long. So the hole needs to be deeper then that and measured from the recess. I used some masking tape to mark about 3/4" in.

IMG_3229sc.jpg (239.47 KiB) Viewed 36110 times

While you are at it this is about the last time you will have access to this end so finish anything left to do and sand it, might even want to add your finish to the very bottom.

IMG_3230sc.jpg (363.36 KiB) Viewed 36110 times

Now the time has come to get rid of the chuck and mount the mandrel.

IMG_3231sc.jpg (265.7 KiB) Viewed 36110 times

Your work piece then threads on. From here you can turn what ever shape you have in mind. In my case I went with something simple.

IMG_3232sc.jpg (310.79 KiB) Viewed 36110 times

Like any lathe project you can sand it on the lathe. I'm not going for a supper gloss finish, I sanded to 1200 grit and left it at that. I'll leave you decide what finish you want. No matter what finish you put on I don't think they will be dishwasher safe.

IMG_3234sc.jpg (184.14 KiB) Viewed 36110 times

Now it simply taken off the mandrel and you thread on the stopper.

IMG_3236sc.jpg (212.59 KiB) Viewed 36110 times

You may have noticed that the top is flat well actually concave by just a little. I did this to see how well we like it, with this feature you can stand it on its head like this when you take it off.

IMG_3237sc.jpg (191.49 KiB) Viewed 36110 times

So that is about it for this thread. There is really no mystery to these and of course you can play with shapes, colors , woods, and even different materials if you wish in addition to shapes. If you go here:

http://nilesbottlestoppers.com/Stopper.Gallery.htm

You can see just how talented others are. I'm no where near their league but I have fun and make them very simple but functional.

Ed

[BuckeyeDennis]

Thanks Ed. Ruth will be getting my order for a mandrel and couple of stoppers tomorrow. You just figured out what I should do with buckeye burl blank #2!

[Mike907]

Thanks for the tutorial, Ed, very enjoyable.

For anyone that would like to try bottle stoppers, but don't have all of the equipment, glue a piece of 3/8" dowel into your blank, chuck the dowel in the drill chuck or four jaw chuck, if you have one, and turn the stopper. When done , glue on a cork.

For examples, see the prepared blanks and corks here:

http://nickcookwoodturner.com/supplies.htm

Mike

[newportcycle]

Thanks much. Do you believe when using a chuck that the tail stock support is necessary? Could you also describe your cutting tools, are they shopsmith tools or have you found something you like better? Cutting speeds, where have you found your sweet spot?

Thanks to you and others who've taken the time to take these very detailed photos and do a write up these are invaluable to beginners like myself.