I have learned something today

[emtmike]

I believe in everything you do you should learn something. I have learned something about myself. Let me start from the start. I seen BB had bottle stoppers on sale last week and I have always wanted to try to turn one so I picked up 10 of them. I then ordered some wood off E-Bay. I was looking forward to getting all me stuff so I could give this “bottle stopper thing†a try. A few days later I came home from work and found the package I was waiting for. I ripped into it, ran to my work shop and drilled out the first piece of wood. I put in my lathe and started to turn. When I was done I started to screw the cone stopper to the wood. I thought I would put a few drops of CA in the hole to get the best hold. I screwed the stopped into the wood as far as it would go only to find out I did not drill the hole deep enough. While trying to figure out what to do next the glue did its job. Since then I have had I guess 10 blocks on the lathe and only have 5 stoppers to show for it and they are only ok. I have burned my fingers more on these dam things than I ever have on pens.

So what have I learned???

I HATE BOTTLE STOPPERS!!!!

 

[Woodbutcher68]

I have made the same mistakes you did, including glueing my fingers together while applying a CA finish. I don't use the recommended drill bit, I use a smaller one and then tap the hole using a metal tap. I drill the hole deeper and try to get the CA at least half way down the hole. I also quickly remove the cone and give the threaded part an extra half turn with a pair of pliers, being careful not to damage the threads. That brings the cone tight to the wood. Try using a thicker material to apply the finish. I use paper towels instead of cloth at first, then use old cotton strips to buff them out.
In time you make decide you like them.

 

[Penmonkey]

I bet they hate you too!

 

[TellicoTurning]

Hey Mike,
In my market, I sell more bottle stoppers than pens... I don't like the cones, they are too heavy and don't sell as well as the little acrylic stoppers, plus you don't have to worry about fit as much.. (and the kits are much less expensive than the cones) and I can get the same price for either..

try the silicone stoppers instead of the cones..

 

[jkoehler]

I really enjoy making the stoppers. so far, i have only used the cones from PSI. they have been a good seller for me.
i drill the documented hole and use the stopper mandrel for the tap.
once i am done making the stopper, i just thread the stopper onto it and have never needed to glue a stopper in.

i havemade both woods and Ed's Poly and have had GREAT results from both.

 

[Skye]

I got pretty lucky, two down, both good.

Man we've all had days like this. Good thing about it is it makes you remember what it was like to be a novice at something. Makes you answer the noob's qustions with a little more patience than before.

 

[jaywood1207]

Originally posted by ozmandus
<br />Hey Mike,
In my market, I sell more bottle stoppers than pens... I don't like the cones, they are too heavy and don't sell as well as the little acrylic stoppers, plus you don't have to worry about fit as much.. (and the kits are much less expensive than the cones) and I can get the same price for either..

try the silicone stoppers instead of the cones..

Where do you buy these from? I have seen the silicone but not the acrylic.

 

[martyb]

I sell quite a few of the long tapered Berea stoppers that I get from BB. I've found as long as I follow the directions (drill the hole 1" deep) I don't have a problem. The only problem I've had is my impatience for the finish combined with my non-VS lathe. I was lazy on a few stoppers and didn't slow down the spin all the way to apply the CA finish and ended up with the CA sling. Nothing to do there except get the scraper back out and clean it up!

I find the stoppers more fun to turn then pens since you've got a lot more material to get creative with. But sanding and finishing a graceful curve on a pen is much easier than some of the tight inside arcs on a few of my bottle stoppers.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Oh-No.. I mispelled acryllic.. correct spelling is SILICONE[]

 

[TellicoTurning]

Jeff,
I haven't used Ed's Poly yet.. plan to order some later this year.. bought some from WoodCraft store in Knoxville... after I watched Ed's video about turning the Poly and figured that I was using wrong tool, they turned out nicely... I pretty much only use the SILICONE (making sure I don't mispell it again[]) stoppers now.. much easier to work with and not so bulky as the cones.

 

[wags54]

I have not turned a bottle stopper yet but I had a thought while reading this thread. If you are concerned about the stopper unscrewing could you use the blue loc-tight---not the red (it's almost as bad a CA you will need to heat it to unscrew it) but I have used the blue for several applications with great results- It keeps things together but it can be unscrewed with a little effort at a later time, if need be. Just a thought I could be way off base but thought I might throw it out there.