Hello and help please....

[arcos]

Just joined the forum FINALLY... Some of those registration questions are 'tricky'!

Fairly novice turner having had my lathe for just over a year and then a spell in Latin America where I couldn't take my lathe :-(

Anyway, I am turning a few small bowls, bottle stoppers, a few bangles and other sundries from my own olive, mimosa and bits of various fruit trees. I am currently looking at turning grape vine, carefully, into a bottle stopper top (quite apt I feel).

Anyway, help....

I am looking to source a synthetic cork that I can use to fit to bottle stoppers. No, I don't really like them but I have a potential 'market' to sell them into at a low(ish) price. I have seen completed stoppers on ebay and alike using a fairly 'nice'(?) looking synthetic cork but struggling to find anything online.

2nd question... I have a limited number of CHEAP chisels and managed snap my gouge. As I say they are CHEAP and really not up to much. I have reground the gouge and it is ok but needs replacing. I have read that taking a quality bowl gouge you can pretty much use it for most things. Is this the case? What size you would recommend that isn't going to break the bank!

Thanks for listening and look forward to joining in with the forum

[Bryan Milham]

Hi Arcos and welcome to our forum. You'll find a welcoming place here among us. And you've made a good start by asking questions. Help and assistance as well as comradeship is what we offer.

I love your idea of turning Grape vine for bottle stoppers, very apt.

However I can't help you with your first question, I've seen them as I pull the plastic cork of course but never seen the plastic for sale. I shall watch this answer with interest (and maybe a little research).

Your second question I can help with, although all thoughts are personal, others will have different ideas and answers.

I'm assuming you are talking about one of those sub £20 sets of cheap turning sets. Your right, they are not much good for protracted use, to start with you'll spend more time sharpening them than using them. They don't hold their edge and are fairly soft as far as tool steel goes and as you've discovered.

So a Bowl Gouge. Yes you can do more than turn bowls with them. But again the flute can affect the way it cuts. Steep flute walls (a Vee shape) will clog if given a swept back grind but works well with a standard 45 to 55 degree grind.  For a swept back (Elsworth/Celtic) grind you need a superflute and almost everyone will say the Henry Taylor is the one to go for.

For the work you are considering I'd suggest the 3/8" but don't try the full swept grind to start with, it can be a bit tricky. Sweep back the wings no more than 3/4" and to allow detail work probably nearer 55 degrees, this will give you a tip for reasonable detail work and the wings for cutting and shear scraping, it will also be strong enough for roughing out small diameter timbers. No it will not be as good as a dedicated spindle roughing gouge, detail (spindle) gouge and skew but if nothing else you'll master tricks that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your turning.

Now the problem is can you grind a swept back grind. If not a simple jig can be made from scraps, take a look at this one for example, but there are many other versions as well.

http://www2.woodcraft.com/pdf/77B61.pdf

[John D Smith]

Hi Arcos,Welcome to the Forum I used to get mine from Meantime Designs but they have now closed down there are plenty of places that sell the actual cork ones with a 12mm bore.if you do not find what you want send me a PM and I will send you a few I have about 15 left.I think someone will know where you can get some.

                                                        Regards

[John D Smith]

Hello again Arcos, Axminster Power Tools sell these at £3.65 for a pack of 5 I hope this helps.Regards John

[John D Smith]

Hello Arcos did you manage to get the bottle stoppers you were looking for? Regards John

[arcos]

Hello Arcos did you manage to get the bottle stoppers you were looking for? Regards John

Hi John

No I didnt unfortunately, still looking.

The Axminster ones look about the closest I can find. Fromt memory they also seem to offer 'optics corks'... Cork would be my preference to be honest but not entirely sure how I would deal with the hole all the way through?!?!

Will continue my quest I guess!

[John D Smith]

Hi Arcos,There is no problem with the the hole up the middle of the cork I think the size of the bore is 12.5 mm so buy yourself a length of dowel that  diameter drill a hole in the wood that diameter or what ever you are using for your top about 15mm deep glue a piece of dowel with the length of the cork sticking out turn the top holding on the dowel when finished glue the cork on to the dowel. Best of luck I am sure you would find a method with diagrams if you googled it Regards John   

[malcy]

Hi Arcos. I seem to remember in my dim and distant past, seeing something on a television programme that said that the artificial 'cork' for wine bottles was developed in Australia for their growing wine market. I also seem to remember that this was the only place to get it. That was a while ago so things have probably changed now. That may be a line of exploration to source this material. That's all I can add to this thread. Hope it helps. Malcolm.

[John D Smith]

Hi Arcos, This link may have been posted before if so my apologies if you want to look at any instructional videos click on the link below.

 www.woodturningvideos.weebly.com                         Regards John

[David Buskell]

Hi Arcos,

Might be worth having alook at Craft Supplies USA. Page 84 of 2011/12 catalogue shows some corks.

David

[Bryan Milham]

Arcos, I set some friends on this question and the following came up.

The first two are manufacturers sites;

http://www.vinova.be/engels/home.htm
http://www.nomacorc.com/nomacorc-sustainability.php

But this is an American site that sells them - only in quantities of 100 as far as I can see. But maybe worth an e-mail,

http://www.letsdowine.com/prno1co.html,

best of luck.