Today in the shop (turning a bottle stopper)

[redleg]

Thanks Ed for the excellent tutorial. We have to do a late Christmas this year with my son and family so I'm hoping to make some of these for him. The flat top is a great idea.

[wa2crk]

On the Ruth Niles website there is a photo array of bottle stoppers that other folks have done. That should give some folks an Idea of the designs that can be made.
Bill V

[reible]

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.

Hi,

I was taught that if you can use the tail stock do so. When going from square to round of course I was turning between centers so I'm assuming that you were speaking of the portion where I was shaping after that. You might get by without it but since you will need it for the drilling operations it's less work to just leave it in place and use it. After the drilling and mounting on the mandrel it could even be used but I don't feel it necessary at that point.

Tool wise I turned this with all carbide tools. Some people love them, some people hate them, I'm on the I like them side. I don't always use them but more often then not they come in to use on most projects. In one of the pictures is brown handled Rockler tool with round shaft, it is a bit tricky to use but I used that to ruff the blanks. The other tools that might be in the pictures are Easy Wood Tools. Costly but nice. The ones shopsmith sells are their cheaper version and I've not tried them. Certainly the shopsmith tools that come with the machine could be used and that is all I use to have. The big thing with steel tools is keeping them sharp, the carbide can be refreshed by just turning the insert until it is used up.

Speed wise, since I have a powerpro I default to 500 rpm to start then up the speed until I'm getting a lot of vibration or I'm up around 1500 rpm. Larger or odd shaped turnings might require a lower starting speed but for these 2" x 2" x 6" blanks can be started out at 900 rpm since they are quite uniform. I like 1500 rpm for this but I have no set preferences and sort of feel how the turning is going. I might crank it higher to do the shaping and of course go much slower for the sanding.

I know that sounds vague and I wish I had more incite for you but turning seems to be a general sort of art. Watch 10 random youtube videos on the subject and find 10 different ways to do it. Best to get some wood and turn.

I've got three more of these to turn so maybe I can pay a bit more attention to the fine details and get back here with some more details.

Ed

[drashop]

Very good tutorial. Ordered my Shopsmith mandrel from Ruth today.

[reible]

Among a few other projects I turned another stopper today. Last of that crazy wood. Again another simple design.

IMG_3250sc.jpg (235.69 KiB) Viewed 15196 times

IMG_3251sc.jpg (272.29 KiB) Viewed 15196 times

Ed

[ERLover]

as all your stuff, Very Nice!!!

[ChrisNeilan]

Ed, I bought Ruth's mandrel a few years ago and now need to make 24 or so stoppers for my son's wedding shower. I either lost or did not but the drill bit that she now includes. What size drill do you use? I see she now supplies two different sizes.

[reible]

Well I got this wrong so I'm doing a redo of the post.

To be honest now I'm confused. The bit I have which I think came with the older mandrel is 11/32", the bit I think came with the new mandrel is 5/16" but it could be the other way round.

It seemed harder to thread this last two stoppers and I thought it was due to the wood used or me getting weaker but perhaps it was because of the difference in drill bits.....

My guess is that both work but you might want to check out how hard/easy it is with the particular wood you are using and adjust from there.

Ed

Ed, I bought Ruth's mandrel a few years ago and now need to make 24 or so stoppers for my son's wedding shower. I either lost or did not but the drill bit that she now includes. What size drill do you use? I see she now supplies two different sizes.

[dannyshamoon]

Ed..... At what speed are you turning the blanks at? I see you have the new powerehead, I've got an older 500 with the dial a speed.
Thanks
Danny

[ChrisNeilan]

Ed, you got me into deep trouble. My wife saw this post and thought that bottle stoppers would make great party favors. We are hosting a wedding shower for my son and his fiance (one of those Jack & Jill showers)and she wants me to turn 30 of these by Feb 5th! Just got off the phone with Ruth Niles!