BOTTLE STOPPERS

[keithkarl2007]

Ok so i'd love to try out a few bottle stoppers. I fitted out a cafè a few months back which sold wine by the lorry load and i'd love to see if the lady there would sell them for me. Its a very well to do cafè and i could see unique handmade bottle stoppers selling very well there. Question is, what do i need to turn them? Well there's a few questions, the best kit, blank sizes, display methods and pricing though i reckon this will be similar to pricing pens. Any advice would be really appreciated

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I use a drill chuck and a purchased bottle stopper mandrel. There's a different mandrel for each kit, but they're cheap....

Other than that, just regular turning tools (I use a bowl gouge), and some sandpaper, and bob's your uncle, fanny's your aunt!

I finish mine with varnish, CA, laquer, or wax, depending on my mood!

 

[keithkarl2007]

I've heard of some that corrode with the acidity of wine and seen on here somewhere of someone selling s/s stoppers. Would these be the best quality available

 

[ScribbleSticks]

Hi Keith Karl Karl Keith K.K. Sir,
Here’s what I use for bottle stoppers. The mandrel is from PSI and is available in 3/4" x 16 tpi and 1†x 8 tpi.

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/pk-bs1-mj.html

The diameter of the end of the mandrel is the same diameter as the top of the “flat top†style bottle stoppers which makes it easy to turn the base of the stopper blank to the correct diameter.

The mandrels come with a 27/64†drill bit for drilling your blank. I also use a 3/8†x 16 tpi tap to create some threads for the mandrel stud to guide on. Not really necessary in softer woods, but it makes it much easier with harder woods.

My blanks are 1-1/2†square x 2-1/2†long for the regular bottle stoppers. If I’m making the bottle stopper with corkscrew (PSI BS-3). . .

I use 1-3/4†to 2†square x 2-1/2†blanks. The extra diameter is needed to assist in twisting in the corkscrew and pulling the cork.

You are correct about the acid in the wine pitting the chrome stoppers. These are designed to show off your wine and for decanting but should not be used for storing an open bottle of wine. Arizona Silhouette sells the Stainless Steel stoppers.

Here’s the link;

http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/Bottle_Stopper_Kits.htm

There are probably hundreds of ways to make bottle stoppers (and I’m sure someone will chime in to tell me I’m doing it all wrong) but this is the way that works best for me.

If you’re using the roundy-topped bottle stoppers, there are a couple of other tricks that work well. P.M. me and I’ll send you the details.

Best Wishes,

 

[PaulDoug]

Bottle stoppers are great fun and pretty straight forward. I have the Pen State mandrel shone in Tom's post above but I just ordered the one from Arizona Silhoette. Not sure why but I think I will like it better. I like to recess the stopper a little because if for some reason you don't get the hole perfectly 90' to the stopper blank or it threads just a little crooked, it won't show a gap.

 

[jscola]

Check out Ruth Niles for stainless steel stoppers.

 

[cigarman]

While you are on the AZ site check out Yo YO Spins viedos on making stoppers. or go to his site.

 

[tmhawk]

Hi Keith,
I have a different take on Bottle Stoppers. I took the basic idea for the “Ginter†Stopper and modified it. Here is what I do: take a block 2†x 2†x 21/4†and drill 20mm with a 32mm forstner bit. Then drill 15mm with a 3/8†bit. I put this block on my expanding scroll chuck, HOWEVER, before I got the scroll chuck I just put in on a Jacobs chuck, cut a small piece of waste block for my live center and friction mounted it. Then I turn a bottle stopper. What you can do is take a #2 synthetic cork (I get these from the beer home brew store) and a 3/8†dowel rod. I cut the dowel rod and rubber cork to fit in the 20mm hole. CA glue the rubber cork to the dowel rod and CA glue the dowel rod inside the stopper. You cut the dowel rod/rubber cork to fit inside the 20mm forstner hole. What you have is a “Hidden Cork†bottle stopper. The Bottle Stopper fits over the bottle and you don't see the cork. I don’t use real cork. They guy at the beer home brew store said that almost all real cork has some disease and that the rubber cork (which has a 3/8†hole already drilled in it) is sterile. I’ve made many of these stoppers. You can see a couple of them in my album. Oh yeah Ginter is: http://www.ginterenterprises.com
Good luck.

 

[keithkarl2007]

thanks all for your great advice

 

[rincewind03060]

Stainless steel stoppers are also available here:

http://www.torne-lignum.com/stoppers.html

 

[PaulDoug]

Tony, your stoppers are awesome. How did you come up with that idea?

Thanks for sharing that info. I bookmarked your site, Hope to order some mech. soon.

 

[broitblat]

I've used the PSI mandrel with stopper bodies from PSI, AS, Ruth Niles, and CSUSA. I agree with folks that suggest the stainless stoppers (Ruth, AS, and CSUSA all have stainless models) unless you know the stoppers will only be used as a serving accessory rather than for long storage. The Ginter stopper, referenced above, is also a good choice for longer term storage (although it is a bit more work to produce) and the synthetic corks should work well, too. Real cork, even if there weren't contamination issues, is not durable enough, in my opinion, to last long enough.

Enjoy!

-Barry

 

[ctwxlvr]

here is a thread showing a simple setup for bottle stoppers: http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=32942

my solution is a 3/16th 4" bolt with the head cut off and a couple of flanged nuts to set the length of the threads, for the kits I have the flanged nuts are very close to the right size. I then clamp the assembly into my beall chuck.

 

[MobilMan]

PSI has a "Starter Kit Special" About $75.00 worth for $55.35. Includes 10 stoppers--chuck & 10 nice wood blanks. #BS1-SS1 for 3/4 x 16tpi #BS1-SS2 for 1 x 8tpi. Takes a 23/64 bit or you can use an 11/32 bit. Nice kit for a start.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Hi Keith,
I do bottle stoppers also, but IMHO, the cone type are too large and cumbersome on the bottles... they look really nice, but I have found they don't sell all that well... I make the silicone stoppers on the maple dowel.. also found in most of the wood turners catalogs... I can make them just as quickly and uses the same mandrels as the cones.. and I can sell them for a little less, so they sell better for me in my area.

 

[Fred]

Some of the best S/S bottle stoppers are available from Ruth Niles. Here is here e-mail address and she is wonderful to deal with, is honest, and definitely stands behind her products ... rthniles@yahoo.com.

Bob Henderson's post above has her Internet address correctly posted as being www.torne-lignum.com/stoppers.html.

Best of luck to you on your endeavors ... Fred

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Hi Fred...make sure you don't put someone's email address directly on the page - it will get picked up by SPambots, and poor Ruth won't be able to read her mail (she'll have 500 thousand viagra ads in her inbox)...

So next time, use at and dot instead...

Andrew