In the interest of penturning (hic)

[CREID]

Uh, in the interest of penturning (hic). I now have saved (hic) 5 or more wine corks.
I am thinking of like a comfort grip of maybe even an (hic) barrel.
My question is, have any of you ever used wine corks (for pens that is) and if so, do you actually turn them, or do you simply sand them to shape?
Thanx
Curt

 

[Charlie69]

No experience turning cork pens but I have turned countless cork fly rod grips, with sand paper. You could make very light cuts with a sharp skew but the risk of catches is great and cork turns down so fast with sand paper that it's not worth doing. I like to start turning the cork with a file to be sure it's concentric then sand through 320. Fly rod grips are made with 1/2" cork rings that are glued together and sanding through the higher grits tends to burnish the glue making it darker than the cork. If your not gluing cork rings together that wouldn't be an issue.

 

[CREID]

No experience turning cork pens but I have turned countless cork fly rod grips, with sand paper. You could make very light cuts with a sharp skew but the risk of catches is great and cork turns down so fast with sand paper that it's not worth doing. I like to start turning the cork with a file to be sure it's concentric then sand through 320. Fly rod grips are made with 1/2" cork rings that are glued together and sanding through the higher grits tends to burnish the glue making it darker than the cork. If your not gluing cork rings together that wouldn't be an issue.

Yea, I kind of thought that it might be hard to turn with traditional tools, I never thought of a file though or maybe a light cutting rasp in the beginning. I should have thought of fishing poles though, I have a friend that worked for Lamiglas years ago.
Curt

 

[jttheclockman]

I recall this being done at least once and maybe more than that. I suggest you do a search and see what comes up. I can not remember off hand who it was.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f45/sharing-time-only-look-if-you-like-sell-94537/


http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/wine-cork-cap-99393/


http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/fransiscan-cork-77018/

 

[tomtedesco]

I looked all over my box of wine and could not find a cork, the bottle has a screw on lid.

 

[CREID]

I looked all over my box of wine and could not find a cork, the bottle has a screw on lid.

At least it wasn't wine in a box. Or is it?
Curt
p.s. (hic)

 

[Skie_M]

Meh ... I bottle my own Wine, with real corks at that!

Meade too ... and Hard Apple Cider ... And I also make some really mean imitation whiskey in Strawberry Limeade (backwoods cool-aid)....


I get my corks at an actual brewery supply store locally.


If I ever want to make or apply cork to a pen barrel .... yeah, I'ld start with 80 grit to get it round, then work it down near finished size before switching to higher grits.


I'ld probably use the exact same techniques as turning balsa wood.... all sandpaper, extra light touches.


And Creid ... next time, save us a barrel of Jack Daniels (staves), eh?

 

[Sabaharr]

You know me, never the easy way. I too make my own wine and buy corks in a 1000 count bag so there are plenty fresh ones around to experiment with. I would think that they could be sanded down to near finished size then I would try to stabilize them with Cactus Juice. First I would call Curtis and see if he might have some hints on this to try out. If that worked I would then finish the blank off with sanding and MM which should make for a kinda shiny and very durable cork.

 

[Sabaharr]

And Creid ... next time, save us a barrel of Jack Daniels (staves), eh?

I just bought 3 Jack Daniels barrel staves last week in Lynchburg after the distillery tour. I picked them out by the degree of staining that soaked into the wood. Some barely looked like they got damp but the ones I got have a nice two tone stain line and they are branded with the JD logo. Will almost be sad to cut them up.

 

[Krash]

Yea, I have been entertaining the same idea but the cool thing about a wine cork is the logo and not necessarily the cork itself, at least I think so. The problem is that the wine cork is too large in diameter so I have thought about drilling an oversize hole and wrapping it around the tube with either a perfect seam or a planned spacer. Not sure .... just thinking.

 

[Kragax]

I would like to know how to make mead.

 

[CREID]

Meh ... I bottle my own Wine, with real corks at that!

Meade too ... and Hard Apple Cider ... And I also make some really mean imitation whiskey in Strawberry Limeade (backwoods cool-aid)....


I get my corks at an actual brewery supply store locally.


If I ever want to make or apply cork to a pen barrel .... yeah, I'ld start with 80 grit to get it round, then work it down near finished size before switching to higher grits.


I'ld probably use the exact same techniques as turning balsa wood.... all sandpaper, extra light touches.


And Creid ... next time, save us a barrel of Jack Daniels (staves), eh?

Send me a few cases and I'll try your corks. :biggrin:

Curt

 

[CREID]

You know me, never the easy way. I too make my own wine and buy corks in a 1000 count bag so there are plenty fresh ones around to experiment with. I would think that they could be sanded down to near finished size then I would try to stabilize them with Cactus Juice. First I would call Curtis and see if he might have some hints on this to try out. If that worked I would then finish the blank off with sanding and MM which should make for a kinda shiny and very durable cork.

I don't want to stabilize the cork, that would defeat my purpose of getting the cork feel. Someone else mentioned fishing poles and maybe a certain product (don't remember if the product was mentioned here or I got it somewhere else) that seals the cork to prevent it from getting dirty and oily from your hands and keeps the feel and flexibility of cork. But thanks anyway.
Curt

 

[CREID]

Yea, I have been entertaining the same idea but the cool thing about a wine cork is the logo and not necessarily the cork itself, at least I think so. The problem is that the wine cork is too large in diameter so I have thought about drilling an oversize hole and wrapping it around the tube with either a perfect seam or a planned spacer. Not sure .... just thinking.

Your right about the logo on the cork, but turning or sanding is going to make that go away. Unless maybe you made a rather large barrel and glued some wood on one or both ends and turned the wooden only. An idea anyway. I was thinking on just going with the story, here is a pen made with the cork of your favorite wine.
Curt

 

[Skie_M]

Yea, I have been entertaining the same idea but the cool thing about a wine cork is the logo and not necessarily the cork itself, at least I think so. The problem is that the wine cork is too large in diameter so I have thought about drilling an oversize hole and wrapping it around the tube with either a perfect seam or a planned spacer. Not sure .... just thinking.

Cut the cork up and save that label on the outer layer ..... glue it down like a veneer and seal over it.

In actuality, though, the thing a lot of people want to save about their corks is the SMELL of the bottled vintage.... Even years later, with the cork dried out, you can still smell a hint of it.

 

[CREID]

Yea, I have been entertaining the same idea but the cool thing about a wine cork is the logo and not necessarily the cork itself, at least I think so. The problem is that the wine cork is too large in diameter so I have thought about drilling an oversize hole and wrapping it around the tube with either a perfect seam or a planned spacer. Not sure .... just thinking.

Cut the cork up and save that label on the outer layer ..... glue it down like a veneer and seal over it.

In actuality, though, the thing a lot of people want to save about their corks is the SMELL of the bottled vintage.... Even years later, with the cork dried out, you can still smell a hint of it.

Ok, so how about making one of those perfume thingies and filling it with wine!!! That way they can keep the cork and that smell for a long time.:laugh:
Curt
P.S. Not to be used while driving, especially through one of those New Years Eve checkpoints.

 

[Skie_M]

That and ... would it be considered an "open container" whilst in the wifey's purse?



Ohhhhhhh ... I just came up with a NAUGHTY idea .....


Next time my mail carrier comes round, I can give him a pen made from stabilized cast Beggin Strips...


Then again, I get the feeling that they might just put me on that "undeliverable as addressed" nationwide listing permanently if I did that ...

 

[CREID]

That and ... would it be considered an "open container" whilst in the wifey's purse?



Ohhhhhhh ... I just came up with a NAUGHTY idea .....


Next time my mail carrier comes round, I can give him a pen made from stabilized cast Beggin Strips...


Then again, I get the feeling that they might just put me on that "undeliverable as addressed" nationwide listing permanently if I did that ...

You must really like your mail carrier.:highfive::rotfl::RockOn:
Curt

 

[Skie_M]

I would like to know how to make mead.

Making mead is a simple, yet time-honored tradition .....


You take a glass of real orange juice, a packet of yeast (use a specialty wine-making yeast, please .... regular yeast can be used, but leaves a "bready" smell and taste for 4 - 6 months), 3 quarts of honey, some spring water (to top off the container), and whatever kind of flavoring items you would like to impart to your meade (usually chopped up or ground up), and mix well in a 1-gallon container sealed with an airlock device... (not sealed in the way you might imagine, but sealed so that gases can excape while air cannot enter the container).


The container needs to be very clean and sanitized, as does the airlock ... it is recommended that you use sanitized water in the airlock to provide the locking action (bubbles excape through it), but in case air pressure changes, I suggest you just use spring water... some of the airlock liquid could be forced into the container.


You'll then have to keep the container in moderate temperatures .... (between 60 and 80 degrees for best effects), for several months while waiting to savor the fruits of your labor.


For more detailed information, you can PM me ... or you can just look up some videos on the process over at StormTheCastle.com He's got some great tutorials on the process.


(PS ... making wine is much cheaper and easier ... substitute 1 lb of raisins for the honey, add 2 lb sugar, and you'll need a bit more spring water to top off your gallon. 1 gallon generally fills 4 750 ml bottles. Specialty yeasts for wine-making include Red Star packets that cost around 1 dollar each .... I like the red packets (fruity wines), but the yellow packets (champagne wines) work too for higher alcohol content...)

 

[Kragax]

Thanks, I may give it a try. What would be a good flavoring for mead?

 

[Skie_M]

A fruit flavored meade that has anything other than grape or apple is called a Melomel ...

These include Cherry, of course, as well as various citrus fruits, pineapple, peaches, pears, watermelon, ect ...

A meade that has apples added for flavoring is termed a Cyser. It is a cross with Hard Apple Cider.

A meade that has grapes added for flavoring (use raisins, lol) is termed a Pyment. It is a cross with wine.


I have seen people who flavor their meade with a wild variety and mix of fruits ... experiment at your leisure!

I do know that there's an award-winning mead available locally up in Alaska that is flavored with raspberries, black currant, and cherry... That's something I would like to try sometime.

My meade recently won 2nd place in a local wine testing ... I used Cherry and Elderberry. Cherry gives a sweet flavor, while elderberry is somewhat bitter, giving it a sophisticated middle-sweet taste.


You probably don't want to try my exact methods of meade making .... nobody I know seems to understand how it could possibly work, yet I end up with a drinkable, mellow, aged-tasting product in about 2 months, rather than 6 months to a year later.


It is perfectly safe (and a reasonably good idea) to taste your meade while it's still in the aging and maturing process. You have to "rack" your mead at least once a month, to get it off the "lees" ... the sediment that will settle to the bottom of your container. The process is to siphon out of one container into a pre-sanitized container of similar size, so that the yeast can continue to create alcohol within that environment. During the racking process, just take a little into a clean glass and try it to see if the taste needs adjustment or more time to refine.


Good flavors to start with are quite simple .... Follow the recipe I gave earlier, and add 2 crushed cloves, a stick of cinnamon (broken up, not ground ... ground will follow your mead from rack to rack), and some ginger root.


Or, you could add a pound of dried cherries (ground coarsly in a blender ... you can grind this, it'll float out of the way when racking).


Side note: If you want to add a citrus flavor, do so after the wine has settled and stopped fermenting. Citric acids help the fermentation process, which is why the glass of orange juice is added at the start .... you won't taste that orange flavor ANYWHERE in your mead if you don't add that flavor after it's finished.

 

[CREID]

Hey, you guys have hijacked my thread, that will be a fine of one gallon of mead. And I want it corked, not a screw cap.
Curt

 

[Skie_M]

Hey, you guys have hijacked my thread, that will be a fine of one gallon of mead. And I want it corked, not a screw cap.
Curt

Sad side note ...


Glass bottles are taboo at the lake ... gotta go with a screw cap.


Of course, for aging at home on the rack, corked glass bottles are the way to go!


Wait ... what was that about a hijacking?

 

[CREID]

Hey, you guys have hijacked my thread, that will be a fine of one gallon of mead. And I want it corked, not a screw cap.
Curt

Sad side note ...


Glass bottles are taboo at the lake ... gotta go with a screw cap.


Of course, for aging at home on the rack, corked glass bottles are the way to go!


Wait ... what was that about a hijacking?

I'm just trying to get some free booze. It's not fair of you to talk about it and not share.
Curt

 

[PKal]

Cork

I use cork for lower barrels all the time. Just use a sharp skew with a light touch and you shouldn't have any problems. It makes for a nice, soft grip.

 

[CREID]

I use cork for lower barrels all the time. Just use a sharp skew with a light touch and you shouldn't have any problems. It makes for a nice, soft grip.

Do you seal it somehow so it doesn't darken with oils from their hands?
Curt

 

[Skie_M]

I'ld go with some kind of rubberized sealer to preserve the flexibility and feel of the cork grip, but I'ld still wonder about the durability over time ...

 

[CREID]

I'ld go with some kind of rubberized sealer to preserve the flexibility and feel of the cork grip, but I'ld still wonder about the durability over time ...

Actually, I found a product that is used on cork handles for fishing poles which is supposed to leave the cork in a natural feel.
Curt

 

[Skie_M]

Oh??? Do share! =D

 

[CREID]

Oh??? Do share! =D

U-40 Cork Seal
Actually it says it enhances the cork feel, whatever that means. I may try this, but I really want the feel of cork.
Curt

 

[Skie_M]

I dunno .... sounds just a lil corky to me ...

hehe

 

[Skie_M]

nuff said.

 

[CREID]

nuff said.

Personally, I would rather have an ale (Widmer) (can't spell Hefevisen).

Curt