Turning a Bottle stopper
I like to start with a piece of wood about 1 ½ inch square by 2 inches long. I mark the center on one side of the stopper and then drill a 3/8-inch diameter hole a little over an inch deep. After I drill all the hole I move over to the lathe and I am ready for turning. I use a pin chuck that is mounted in a Jacobs chuck that has a #2 Morse taper. The Morse Taper slides into the headstock. I slide the work piece onto the mandrel and give it a slight rotation away from me. This rotates the pin and locks the piece onto the mandrel. I like to bring up the tailstock any time I can during the turning operation. It secures the piece and also reduces vibration.
I use a skew chisel for the majority of my small turnings. I begin by turning off the corners. I will rough out the piece and use the same tool for the entire turning to get to the final shape. I like to add some small details to my stoppers. I will either cut some grooves in the top or I will use my Spiraling tool to cut a pattern in the top.
I sand the pieces on the lathe using 220 and 320 grit sand paper. This is done on the lathe with it running. I stop the lathe after I am done sanding and then remove the Bottle stopper. I finish turning however many pieces of wood I have prepared and then I like to line them up on a board and finish them by spraying them with lacquer. My favorite part of the whole process is when I have all the stoppers in a line. I love looking at all the different shapes. Of course they look even better with finish applied.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy this project.
