Bottle Stoppers

[poolhound]

Starting to get the hang of these and made a few to give to friends.




Having stripped the threads in a bunch of blanks I have adapted the process to one that seems to work better than doing everything on the mandrel.

1. Mount the sq blank in 4 jaw chuck and round 1 half.
2. turn the blank and round the other half.
3. drill center hole on lathe
4. tap using drill on v slow speed

This method eliminated the chance of a catch while rounding, where all the torque is applied to the very fragile threads if done on the mandrel. Getting a catch while turning the stopper on the mandrel is still a pain and yesterday a small catch just blew apart a nice dyed/stabilized blank - Grrrr. Also tapping using the drill method, while counter intuitive, makes for a more consistent and cleaner thread.

I am still working on the right sanding technique to try and avoid the "rotating swirlies!"

[phrog]

Very, very nice! Could you name the woods used? What do you use for finish?

[poolhound]

Very, very nice! Could you name the woods used? What do you use for finish?

Thanks. From left to right. Mesquite, Cherry, Zebrawood, SpectraPly, Padauk.

Finished using the BLO/CA technique.

[atgcpaul]

Very nice. I especially like the shape on the padauk one. Reminds me of an awl.

Any trick to making the tenon that fits the stopper fit? Just trial and error? Is it then epoxied in?

Are these going to be Christmas presents (and the cutting boards)? I really don't plan far enough ahead.

[poolhound]

Very nice. I especially like the shape on the padauk one. Reminds me of an awl.

Any trick to making the tenon that fits the stopper fit? Just trial and error? Is it then epoxied in?

Are these going to be Christmas presents (and the cutting boards)? I really don't plan far enough ahead.

Paul they are actually threaded so its really the reverse i.e. drill a hole and the stopper screws into it. They look like this



While some of these will be gifts I am actually working on a semi-retirement plan and starting to experiment making stuff that I can sell. Basically my plan is to have a variety of small-ish items that vary in price between $10-250 that can be sold at craft fairs, Etsy and similar and then work on local networking to get a few large projects per year such as the inlaid slab table that could be $1000+. I have a name "46th Street Woodworks" and am working on a website although there is only a basic landing age there right now (http://46stwoodworks.com/). My next task is to figure out how to setup an Etsy store.

[atgcpaul]

Ok, that makes sense now since you mentioned threading earlier.

I've been thinking about a business name, too, where I could squat on the URL name in case I ever want to do this on the side. I live in a "tree city" and our city's logo features an oak tree. I was thinking about incorporating that into the name. However, I'm growing disenchanted with the area so now I'm trying to find something unique and not tying me to this area in case we move.

Anyway, looks like your building quite the inventory for your new venture.

[poolhound]

Anyway, looks like your building quite the inventory for your new venture.

Right now I am trying to see how various different 'products' work when done in batches and approx how much time they take so I can figure out pricing and ROI. Often times the amount of works that can go into something does not translate into a price that will generate enough payback or economic volume. It can also be that simple things that folks would buy in a heart beat can make more money than the fancy stuff. We will see. I have 8 pen kits sitting here that I will be playing with next.