Archive for November, 2009
Mom’s birthday is coming up, so I decided to attempt to turn her some earrings…. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve finished making a bottle stopper with one of the Torne Lignum kits, and I’m pleased with the kit itself. It uses the same drill bit as some off the other stoppers I have made, so no additional investment needed there. It was able to fit on my previously-purchased mandrel, as well. I believe that making stoppers would be considerably easier with a tap to thread the wood after drilling, but I prefer my current ‘screw onto the headstock’ mandrel over one that has a morse taper. (TL has a MT2 mandrel that is also a tap.) My drill chuck (which has a morse taper) tends to pop out at times with any pressure at all being exerted towards the tailstock. I don’t want to deal with that on my bottle stopper mandrel as well. It is easy enough to solve with some all thread, a washer, and a nut, but why bother? What I have works, so I’ll keep using it.
I chose to insert a Sacagawea dollar that my daughter found in my change jar into the stopper. Whereas the design itself is rather plain this time, I believe that the figure of the red malle burl combined with the insert gives it some character.
While at the symposium, I picked up a few new bottle stoppers to try from Torne Lignum. These are stainless steel (not plated like most others), and should never pit due to the acids in wine. They are very low profile, as well — intending to show off the wood of the stopper rather than the metal. I’ll let you know what I think of them after I turn a few. They look well-made, but do not have the shine of other stoppers. I don’t guess that really matters though, since the stopper is so low profile.