Bottle stopper six-pack

[AlanZ]

I'm traveling a bit this week, meeting up with some former team members from work... kind of a first team reunion since a recent reorg.

I like giving gifts to the team. They're great people and it's nice to share what you're up to when not at work.

I've given pendants to most of the ladies, but there are a few people that I haven't seen for a while, so I thought I'd give them bottle stoppers. They all enjoy wine, so I think they'll appreciate these.

Besides, it was an excuse to try a 3/8" Sorby beading tool and a Pinnacle captive ring tool. The stopper on the left was my first try at a captured ring.

Wood is redheart and zebrawood. Just playing around with shapes and tools...

I made a quick photo, as they'll have new homes in a few days.

 

[keithlong]

Very nice, I like em all. How easy was the captive ring to do? been wanting to try one myself.

 

[Alexanderpens]

Very nice! I love the red heart!

 

[AlanZ]

The captive ring was pretty straightforward. Both the beading tool and captive ring tool worked best at a significant downward angle (provided the best surface)

The problem I was having was that I was trying to maximize the remaining material around the ring. However, the tool that clears the inside of the ring really needs some maneuvering room, so I wound up changing my design to clear more surrounding area, creating a more slender form.

Typically I've seen captured rings on items like goblets, where there is a very thin stem. I wanted something stouter for a bottle stopper. The one on the left appears slender, but compared to a goblet stem, it's pretty thick.

The middle red heart stopper's bead was made with just the beading tool. There was no attempt to release/capture it.

 

[sgimbel]

Hope you gave them a bottle of wine to go with them. Beautiful work.

 

[boxerman]

All very nice.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Very nice!

 

[Maximil]

Nice ! I did one too this week in zebrawood. How do you get the "black" lines in the third model (from the left), with heat ?

 

[AlanZ]

Maximil,

Yes, the lines are burned in with a piece of wire. You can use many types of wire, but this was done using one of three diameters of wire supplied in a kit I bought at Woodcraft. Each wire has color coded wooden ball ends for holding.

I always cut a fine groove first (with a skew or corner of a square carbide tool) that the wire can lay into.