# any bottle stopper turners out there?



## jasonb (Jan 3, 2010)

Hi all! this is my first post here.

My problem.......

Been trying to turn some bottle stoppers. Got a mandrel from Woodcraft. The blanks keep stripping out! Thought it was my fixed center on the tailstock so I went up and got a live center. Still stripping out. Thought maybe the wood was too soft so I switched to a harder wood. Still stripping out! Don't know what to do. Any advice for me?


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## discounthunter (Jan 7, 2010)

jason,i havent done bottle stoppers so im not sure of the mandlel you have. is it the screw in type or hole drilled thru type.either way it may be a speed issue. what speed are you turning at,you may be too slow causing you to reflexly try to take too much wood off in one pass. speed your lathe up ,take a lot smaller pass on your wood.also are you starting with square stock? try cutting it closer to an octagon on a bandsaw.hope this helps.


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## lumberjackchef (Jan 7, 2010)

I'm not familiar with turning at all but I would like to see some pictures of the finished product. Never heard of turning bottle stoppers, sounds really cool though! Please post some pics if you have any.


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## jasonb (Jan 8, 2010)

I couldn't tell you the RPMs but I am using one of the middle pulleys. It seems to be quite fast. I will try the highest setting and see what happens. These are the screw on type. 1/4" mandrel. Knocking off the corners has been recomended to me by a friend, I will try that also.

And I will try and get some pics up as soon as I get one done.

Thanks,
JASONB


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## jdthorson (Sep 30, 2010)

*bottle stopper mandrel*

Assuming you are not using a very soft wood there are two things that in general will put enough torque on the wood while turning to strip it loose from the threads - either your tools are not sharp enough or you are being too aggressive with your cut. Leave the tail stock in place as long as possible (the live center is a good idea) and do as much as you can with a sharp spindle gouge and it should work fine for you. If you use a scraper keep the cut very light. Good luck.


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## bobsreturn (Oct 11, 2010)

you need to cut a good thread in the wood .make sure the blank is cut square at both endsor theywill strip even if the thread is ok , best to start with blank between centres and square ends and round out ,then chuck and drill hole for thread , should work then cheers Bob


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## jdthorson (Oct 11, 2010)

bobsreturn said:


> you need to cut a good thread in the wood .make sure the blank is cut square at both endsor theywill strip even if the thread is ok , best to start with blank between centres and square ends and round out ,then chuck and drill hole for thread , should work then cheers Bob



Yes, much like bowl turning where you reverse the piece one last time to cut and finish the last details... only on the top of the bottle stopper in this case instead of on the foot of the bowl.


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## crowbait (Nov 6, 2010)

Yes, I know the mandrel you're using.
Did you drill the hole, with a 10mm bit?

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## 820wards (Jan 23, 2013)

jasonb said:


> Hi all! this is my first post here.
> 
> My problem.......
> 
> Been trying to turn some bottle stoppers. Got a mandrel from Woodcraft. The blanks keep stripping out!



Jason,

If you are using the stoppers that use a 3/8"-16 thread I've found that a 5/16" drill bit does a better job of cutting threads. I have yet to tear threads out using this setup. Now if you are turning toppers that use a 1/4"-20 thread, use a #7 drill bit. I started using the 5mm bit that was recommended and the threads tore out the first time. You can always use some CA glue on the threads after you tap the threads. DO NOT screw the wood blank onto the mandrel unless you have let the CA thoroughly dry, like overnight to be safe, then run your tap into the wood. 

I usually hang out in the milling form, but haven't been milling much due to a pinched nerve in my back. So I've been doing a bunch of turnings on my lathes. Here in CA, Bay Area, wine toppers sell real well due to the many wineries around the area. I could hardly keep up with people wanting them. I also have a couple of local wineries near me that will take all I can make them.

Here is a picture of the last batch I made. I am making a display stand from a cut off piece of 3" thick spalted Sweetgum, it just makes showing them nicer. I also make toppers for use in olive oil bottles. I keep them small, most people don't like a big stopper in a bottle of wine.

In this batch I used wood I have milled. Bing Cherry, spalted Sweetgum, CA Valley Oak, Blue Oak, Black Walnut, Tulip Magnolia, Black Locust and Italian Cypress. You'll even see one I inserted a 12ga. shotgun low base case head at the top. Duck hunters love them!

jerry-

View attachment 275194


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