Stopper Mandrels

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heritagebob

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Dec 3, 2012
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Porter, Texas
I am just getting into making stoppers,, I recently purchased a kit from Woodcraft that had 4 stoppers, a drill bit and mandrel,, was told all are compatable and should be good to go...... well wll is well EXCEPT.. after I drill my hole and thread on the mandrel, turn to shape, remove from mandrel I fin the threaded stopper to be a bit "sloppy" and have to put some epoxy inside and let it dry,,, how can I be assured that the stoppers I guy will fit the hole I have drilled...

Also have learned thru "R&D" that a hex head bolt mounted in a drill chuck on the lathe makes a good mandrel

Where can I find good stopper that will thread nicely into the 3/8 hole I drill ,, I am not a machinest so charts arnt much help to me

Rookie at work
Thanks
 
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Your starting hole might be a little large. WC recommends a 9 mm hole for dense/hard woods or 11/32" (8.73 mm) for softer woods. PSI recommends a 5/16" hole (7.94 mm) & doesn't make a distinction between hard & soft woods.

Personally, I find that a 9/32" (7.14 mm) hole works best and I use this PSI tap to cut the threads rather than trying to thread directly onto the mandrel.
Bottle Stopper Drill and Tap Set at Penn State Industries

I haven't had any problems with sloppy fits since I started using the 9/32" drill.
 
I've made numerous bottle stoppers using Ruth Niles mandrels and bottle stoppers and never have had a problem. Drop Ruth an email regarding your problems or better yet, give her a call and I'm sure you'll be more than pleased with her advice and products. She's a wonderful turner and person who always seems to have the new turner in mind when she produces a fine and lasting product! Talk to your other turning friends and I'm sure they'll back up what I recommend! Safe turning to you always!
 
Sometimes I use a 3/8 bolt with the head cut off in my collet chuck. I drill a 9/32" bit, then tap the hole using a 3/8-16 tap that picked up at the hardware store for a few dollars.

My other system is a PSI stopper chuck, but I still drill with a 9/32" bit and use the above tap. The drill bit with the PSI chuck is too large and creates a sloppy fit on the chuck.

After I have drilled and tapped the holes I drizzle a little thin CA glue on the threads to strengthen the threads. The NEXT day run the tap back through the threads and then it good to turn.
 
Just wanted to say I did my first bottle stopper last night, and I had the exact same problem you did, Bob.. Looks like the drill bit included is too big.. I had to epoxy it together... Will look into solutions here also, 9/32" seems to be the consensus.
 
Thanks for all the info,, I have discovered that the drill bit is in fact a tad bit to large, so I pulled out my caliper, searched thru my bits, found one a little smaller ( not sure what size it is right now ) used it to drill a hole in a chunk of scrap wood, and all seems to go together just fine now.. Always on the hunt for new things to try and experiment with....
 
I might do things a bit different, so I'll comment.

I bought the Ruth Niles setup. Mandrel, stoppers and 11/32 stub bit. It worked great, but I couldn't sell the blasted things in my area. So I decided to switch to cork.

But I still use Ruth's setup.

I drill 11/32 hole in the wood and thread it on to the mandrel and turn it round. I then glue in a short length of 3/8 dowel and glue on the 50 cent cork. (woodcraft) Once the glue dries just sand the dowel flush to the cork hole.

You've now got a cork that shows off the wood and not the stopper. In addition your cost are WAY down. I sell them for $12 and $10 of that is profit....
 
kludge77 said:
I might do things a bit different, so I'll comment.

I bought the Ruth Niles setup. Mandrel, stoppers and 11/32 stub bit. It worked great, but I couldn't sell the blasted things in my area. So I decided to switch to cork.

But I still use Ruth's setup.

I drill 11/32 hole in the wood and thread it on to the mandrel and turn it round. I then glue in a short length of 3/8 dowel and glue on the 50 cent cork. (woodcraft) Once the glue dries just sand the dowel flush to the cork hole.

You've now got a cork that shows off the wood and not the stopper. In addition your cost are WAY down. I sell them for $12 and $10 of that is profit....
Click to expand...

I am with you, I can make the cork and the silicone stoppers quicker, and for a lot less cost and sell a lot more of them than the stainless steel versions. They also work better than the others.
 
I had the same sorta idea about the cork,,, so I ordered some and now waiting on the mail truck,,, watched a few youtube vids and looked at a lot of pics on this matter,, looks great and will add some varity
 
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