Bottle Stopper Threaded Inserts?

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Swagopenturner

Swagopenturner

Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
777
Location
Childress, Texas
I've been turning more bottle stoppers lately and am looking for a source of those threaded inserts used in the blanks. They are 3/8" threads by about 1/2" to 3/4" long. PSI want $1.50 each, which I thought was outrageous! But I have not been able to find replacements anywhere. Any help?
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
I've bought them a hardware stores and at Homers - the going price is in the neighborhood of $2 each. Readily available in brass, but you can find steel ones if you look hard enough. But they are a PITA to use - they are intended for use in face-grain timber, and don't work well in end grain spindles like stopper blanks.

As Jim mentioned, you can drill and tap the bottle stopper blank itself, but because the blank is typically a spindle, you would be tapping end-grain wood. Sometimes that works, but often it doesn't.

My approach is to make threaded wood inserts using face-grain oak or ash (the pronounced face grain pattern of these timbers threads very easily). I start with a scrap of wood, drill 5/16" holes on 1" centers, tap the holes, reinforce the threads with thin CA, and then run the tap through again to clean up the threads. Then, I cut the wood into 1"x1" squares that I mount on my bottle stopper mandrel and turn down to 5/8" plugs using a square-end scraper. I have a go/no-go gauge made by drilling a 5/8" hole in a scrap of wood that makes sizing the plugs simple and quick. I generally make 6-10 of these at a time and save them for when I want to make a stopper.

To use, I simply drill a 5/8" hold in the bottle stopper blank and glue in a plug. This leaves a strong, clean 3/8x16tpi threaded hole in the blank that won't be visible after the stopper is turned and assembled.

And one other point - a threaded hole in the blank serves one, and sometimes two purposes. It most commonly is how the blank is mounted on a mandrel for turning. And if you are using a metal stopper 'works', a threaded stud on the metal base screws into that hole. But what about the situation where you opt to use a stopper works consisting of a tapered dowel with a silicone sleeve? In that case, the threaded hole is used to mount the blank for turning, but the 3/8" dowel that holds the silicone sleeve is too large to fit into that hole. In that case, it is necessary that the hole be reamed out to accommodate the dowel. The amount of material that must be removed is small - in essence, all you have to do is ream out the threading in the hole and that doesn't require a lot of physical effort. My approach is to simply grip an 11/32" twist drill bit in a bench vise, and holding the turning in my hand to avoid damaging the finished product, twist it against the bit.
 
Last edited:
For a long time on stoppers I drilled, then drizzled CA glue in the hole, let the CA dry, then tapped, then drizzled a little more CA on the threads, let it dry and then re tap the hole. Then one day a friend brought me some cedar that he want made into bottle stoppers, it was too soft to drill and tap, so I made some inserts using 1/2" aluminum rods. This was a long time before the inserts showed up on the market.

After that, I started using my homemade inserts. I used a metal cutting bandsaw to cut them 1/2" long. on my wood lathe, I mounted a drill chuck on the headstock to hold them, and drilled and tapped them. It was faster than the CA glue ritual.

If you decide to make them, get some tapping fluid, it will make it easier. Or at least use mix some ATF and kerosene mix as a tapping fluid. I would make a few dozen at a time, then wash them in some fresh kerosene to clean off the ATF. Most big box home stores will have 1/2" aluminum rods but I bought mine from a seller named 6051dude.
 
McMaster-Carr. Don't recall the pricing. You don't know the shipping cost until they tell you later, but it has always been less than i'd expect.
earl
 
I used inserts in the beginning and quit as fast I started. Buy a decent quality tap and you'll be happier. Save time and $$$
 
Swagopenturner said:
I've been turning more bottle stoppers lately and am looking for a source of those threaded inserts used in the blanks. They are 3/8" threads by about 1/2" to 3/4" long. PSI want $1.50 each, which I thought was outrageous! But I have not been able to find replacements anywhere. Any help?
Click to expand...
I sent you a PM several hours ago. But see the sources that I presented. There may be others.
 
You want to make sure the insert is straight! I drill, then thread the insert onto a bolt (cut-off head) and clamp it into the drill press chuck. Press the insert into the stopper. Tony; Those are great sources. Thanks for posting them.
 
randyrls said:
You want to make sure the insert is straight!
Click to expand...

Sort of - - -

Ultimately, the the concern is that the turned top of the stopper appear aligned with the base. The threaded insert serves both to receive the base, but also to mount the blank to the mandrel, so the axis of the insert will automatically align with both the axis of the mandrel and the axis of the base. That means that outer surface of the turning, and the axis of the base, are all referenced to the axis of the threaded insert.

The one potential problem is that if the axis of the insert isn't perpendicular with the bottom of the blank, it is possible for the blank to not seat properly on the mandrel, or for the base to not seat properly against the bottom of the turning. So the key is to make sure that the insert is perpendicular to the bottom of the turning (or more correctly, that the bottom of the turning is perpendicular to the axis of the insert).

So the critical step in the process is at the very beginning when the blank is drilled to receive the insert. This hole can be drilled off the lathe, but that introduces the possibility of misalignment. I prefer to mount the blank between centers, rough turn to a cylinder, and put a small mounting tenon on the 'top' end. Then, I grip the tenon in my scroll chuck, and face off the bottom. The bottom can be either flat or recessed - I prefer to do a recess so that if there is any a small gap between the base and the turning, it will be hidden inside the recess. I have made the recess using a forstner bit, but its easier and faster to do a concave recess using a spindle gouge.

Then, leaving the blank mounted in the chuck, I use the tip of a skew to create an on-center dimple,, mount a drill bit in a jacobs chuck in the tailstock, and drill the hole for the insert. Hint: drilling this hole in steps, starting with a small bit and working up to the final diameter, helps prevent the drill bit from drifting off center. A forstner bit does a nice job, but twist drill bits are easier to use in end-grain. Then, after the threaded insert is in place, the blank is reversed onto a stopper mandrel and finished turned - but from that point on, the turning is all referenced to the axis of the threaded insert.


 
Thanks for all the help! I have tied just drilling and tapping , but have experienced too many stripped out threads, so I like the threaded inserts, I also use a parting tool to flatten the face of the blank before drilling for the insert, and I install the insert using a drill chuck in the tail stock with a cut-off 3/8" bolt as a insertion tool. With the lathe power OFF, I just run the insert up against the blank and HAND TURN the head stock spindle while advancing the tailstock crank handle. Puts the insert in perfectly perpendicular every time! This works with both the brass ones with the external threads and the steel press in ones.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom