Some bottlestoppers

[fuzzyturns]

About 2 weeks ago, I paid a visit to a local gallery, to see whether they would display some of my work. The gallery owner wasn't all that interested in bowls and vases, his gallery is more a sort of nick-nack, high-end gift shop. So we started talking about what would sell, and eventually we agreed I would make him a range of bottle stoppers and he could then decide whether he wanted them or not. I delivered them this morning, and now I'll have to wait and see.

Here are a few pics. They are all made from a range of woods: sycamore, laburnum, plum, oak, ash, and then a few bits of more exotic stuff: mahonia, padauk, purpleheart and panga panga. C&C most welcome (don't hold back).

[Les Symonds]

I'd say that you could be on to a winner there, especially as there's such a wide range of styles and materials, that most people would find one that they favour. By the way, where do you source your stopper kits - I'm always amazed by the price of these?
Les

[fuzzyturns]

The stopper kits are from a guy on amazon. However, after doing a bit more research, if you order bulk quantities, axminster offers a pretty good deal, too.

[GBF]

Try and make the joint between the wood and the metal a bit neater then they will be OK.

Regards George

[John D Smith]

 Hi Fuzzy,
             I find it very difficult to look at your pictures as the size you upload is too large to get a decent view of the whole piece Does any one else find the same problem or is it just me?
                                                       Regards John
 

[Les Symonds]

 Hi Fuzzy,
             I find it very difficult to look at your pictures as the size you upload is too large to get a decent view of the whole piece Does any one else find the same problem or is it just me?
                                                       Regards John
 

....fear not, John, it's not just you.

Fuzzy...try re-sizing the pics before you upload them, it'll make the process of uploading a little quicker and the process of viewing them easier for us.
Les

[seventhdevil]

i'm viewing this on a tv used as my computer monitor and they are quite large but it's not a problem for me.

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

fuzzy they are very nice but like George said try to get the joints a bit better. Try a slicing cut with a skew or spindle gouge across the end and try not to round off the corners when sanding. Otherwise I think you have been very creative, well done.

[bodrighywood]

If the pictures are too big for your screen hold thre control key and scrool one way expands, the other shrinks.

Pete

[fuzzyturns]

Another trick is to right click at the big image and select "Show image", it will then resize to your browser window (if you use Firefox or Chrome, not sure about Safari or IE).

Thanks to all for the feedback.
When you guys say "make the joints better", what exactly are you referring to? The fact that they are wider than the top of the metal bit or any gaps between the metal and the wood?

There is a little problem with these stopper kits, and it lies in the way they are manufactured. The threaded piece inside has its thread sitting right at the bottom of the cone, and in consequence almost none of them are perfectly centric at the top. Since my tops are all perfectly centric (they are made on a custom made mandrel, where I made sure the thread is dead centre), if I made them to precisely the same size as the top of the metal cone, it would look probably worse, since it would match in two points and the other two points are out (on one side the metal protrudes and on the other the wood). Because of that I decided that it would be better to have the wood a little bigger all around. Next time I will try different kits, maybe they are more precise.

[bodrighywood]

Where you have two faces meeting one another as with these you can either aim to have a perfect fit or make a feature of the join with a bead or some such trick. if you can't hide something, as here with wood meeting metal then the latter is better. With two wood faces you can get it close then adjust when they are fitted but you would likely scratch or mark the metal.

Pete

[Bryan Milham]

As George notes you do need to match the wood to the top of the metal part better but you've certainly got some interesting designs there.

I always found the problem was ladies not understanding what they are for, they don't comprehend 'left over wine!'

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

fuzzt in order to overcome the problem of the stoppers being slightly off centre I would be inclined to make a holding device of some sort for the whole thing, maybe some lined jaws for your chuck or possibly a jam chuck. By turning the whole thing together (assuming the outside diameter is centred) you will find it all looks better.
You might also consider a very slightly undercut on the joining face as sometimes these kits are a bit pyramidical (?) in shape.
   Sometimes I will do a little housing to set the top in.

[fuzzyturns]

Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions. I am not sure about the jam chuck/holding device. How would this hold the metal cone, if at the same time the wooden top is screwed right up to the cone?

For the next lot I'll use the kits from Axminster, they are a different construction, and hopefully have the screw properly centred.
I do understand what you guys are saying about matching the top to the metal part, but I am not sure I fully agree. So far the folks I have showed them to have not commented on that part at all. Can anybody explain to me why it is so essential?

[Mark Sanger]

Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions. I am not sure about the jam chuck/holding device. How would this hold the metal cone, if at the same time the wooden top is screwed right up to the cone?

For the next lot I'll use the kits from Axminster, they are a different construction, and hopefully have the screw properly centred.
I do understand what you guys are saying about matching the top to the metal part, but I am not sure I fully agree. So far the folks I have showed them to have not commented on that part at all. Can anybody explain to me why it is so essential?

I think it is like most products on the market some are more than happy if it does the job especially if the price is right. If however you put the product against one of better quality, finish/attention to detail then this can be readily seen and felt.

I guess it is not essential as you could use a whittled piece of soft wood for a bottle stopper, it comes down to the standard and or price you want your items to be.

That is only my thoughts on it. I try to produce the best I can and always strive for such, but it isn't essential.