Bottle Stopper Mandrel

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>You can make one that should work a lot better than that almost for free. I use a piece of 3/8" diameter round bar stock, about 7" long. I chuck one end in a Jacob's chuck that goes in the headstock. I cut four spurs into the other end with a triangular file or cantsaw file. That end goes in the predrilled hole in the stopper blank. After I've finished turning and finishing the stopper, I pull it off the mandrel, and glue in the dowel and glue the cork to the dowel, all in one operation.

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

Barry Turner

>I have one of those mandrels, too. It works pretty well.

Why are you breaking so many screws? I've turned a bunch of winestoppers with mine and have yet to break a screw.

You might look into a spindle adapter from Craft Supplies or Packard, but they are $59.95 and I don't know how well they work.

A couple ideas *LINK*

Fred in NC

>1. 3/8" lag bolt, with head cut off if necessary. Use a regular or Jacobs chuck. Hole in blank needs to be undersized.

2. Pin chuck. Works with 3/8" finished size hole. It can be made from any 3/8" rod or bolt, and a nail. File a 1" long flat on the end of the bolt, as deep as the thickness of the nail. Cut a piece of nail 1" long, minus head and pointed end. Chuck rod, and hold nail on flat while you put on the stopper blank. Rotation secures the blank. Second pic in the link below.


http://www.token.crwoodturner.com/sherln/index.shtml

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

Arch

>Tom, it sounds like you may have a small screw chuck rather than a wine stopper mandrel. Do you first drill a hole for a dowel or for a screw?

The suggested spur on the tip of the bar is sharper and easier made by first drilling a slightly smaller hole about 1/8 to a 1/4 in deep in the tip before filing the spurs. Most cork stoppers use a 3/8 in. dowel so a slightly larger bolt held in a chuck and threaded into the hole will hold the blank tightly.

OT re your query and I haven't tried it and don't plan to, but I wonder if a hot dipped galvanized or coated bolt or even a rusty one with sharp cut threads would hold the blank better. Would residual zinc or iron oxide be a food safe problem? Anyone?

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

TomW in SouthJersey

>The original screw in the chuck was slightly larger than 1/8th. I was drilling a 1/8 inch pilot hole in the blanks.

The bottle stoppers I'm using are the chrome stoppers that have the 3/8 threaded insert. I use epoxy to attach them so I'm not too worried about a close fit. The epoxy takes up some slack.

The salesman at PSI didn't seem to know a lot about mandrels for the bottle stoppers. I just checked the website and it looks like it is a small screw chuck.

I can drill the mandrel out to accept a larger lag type screw and epoxy it into the mandrel. If it works cool. If it breaks I'm no worse off than I am now. And I'll either make one or buy a real 3/8 mandrel.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

Tom

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

Ruth in S.Cal

>Tom, I had a question along the same lines last week. Stuart Johnson sent me a great link at Arizona Silhouette. And it's less than $10. I ordered it Friday, they shipped Saturday and if today wasn't Sunday I would have it.

http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/Bottle_Stoppers.htm

Mandrel Ordered

TomW in SouthJersey

>Ruth,

Thanks for the link. I also noted they have a great sale going for bottle stoppers until tomorrow. I ordered 20 of them also.

Tom

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

Barry Irby

>As is often the case, I'm a little confused. Why don't you drill the blank for the 3/8 dowel and glue in the dowel? Then you could chuck the dowel it in a Scroll Chuck or a Jacobs chuck. I'll have to ask my son, he made a bunch of these and I thought that was what he did.

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

Fred in NC

>The main reason is that the dowel can break.

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel *LINK*

Fred Holder

>If you are making bottle stoppers with 3/8" dowels to go through the cork, I've found the dowel chuck from Craft Supplies USA to be invaluable. However, since the dowel can break if you are too agressive, I came up with a steel mandrel that I used on super hard woods. It is actually a pin chuck made from 3/8" diameter steel rod that can be held in a jacobs chuck or other chuck. See link for information and a drawing.


More Woodturning Tips Page

Ruth, Let us know how you like it.

Stuart Johnson

>

Freds think alike!

Fred in NC

>Fred, thanks for the link. I described the pin chuck above, but the drawing helps a lot.

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Arch, What's your preferred method for drilling the hole in the end of the mandrel? I watched a friend do this with a metal lathe, but I only have a wood lathe, and also a drill press. Could I just borrow the jacob's chuck from the drill press, and put one Jacob's chuck in the headstock holding the mandrel, and the other in the tailstock, holding the drill bit? Or would that get me in some kind of trouble I can't imagine?

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

Fred in NC

>Whichever way you drill it, remember, drilling metal requires lubrication. Keep the drill oiled.

Go slow, and pull it out frequently. Careful with the swarf.

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>I have a spray can of CRC cutting oil. It sure makes a mess when it gets mixed with wood shavings :^) People don't understand it when I warn them they really shouldn't come into my woodshop barefoot.

I was just concerned that the JET 1236's slowest speed might be too fast for drilling steel.

I don't use a mandrel....

Ruth Niles

>I wasn't going to respond to this thread, however, Barry brought up not using the mandrel. I put a blank in the chuck, turn the bottom, drill the hole, turn as much of the stopper as possible so when I part it off, there is just a wee bit of the top to fine tune. I then put a scrap blank of a hard wood, turn a long tenon, a snug fit, the full length of the drilled hole, put the stopper on that to finish the top. I now have a number of these jam chucks (for lack of a better name) and find it faster than using the mandrel.

Re: Bottle Stopper Mandrel

Mark Kauder, Phenix City, AL

>I like to make it easy, I drill a hole in the blank(s), and then use the drill bit as the mandrel. I run the tailstock up and the drill bit bites in enough to drive the blank. I do all the turning and then back out the tailstock/live center and finish the last little bit.

Mark