September/October 2022 Archives - Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To

PROJECT: Versatile Crosscut Sled

A.J. Hamler — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 15:00:20 +0000

Take your crosscutting tasks to a whole new level of precision and convenience by swapping your miter gauge for a sled.

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Project: Turned Bottle Stoppers

Chris Marshall — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 16:45:57 +0000

A custom-turned bottle stopper is one way to transform a fine bottle of wine or spirits into an even more sentimental gift that will be remembered long after the libation is gone. Better still, turning these attractive doodads doesn’t take much time and offers a great way to use up some small, attractive offcuts you may have been stockpiling in your scrap bin from other projects. Rockler’s solid stainless steel bottle stopper hardware, made in the U.S.A., comes in cone or teardrop shapes as well as a self-standing style and sells for around $7 apiece. They’re even more affordable if you buy a 10-pack of the cone-shaped style, as I did for this article. So while these little gems don’t cost a great deal to make, they have the appearance and heft in hand of a quality keepsake that can be used over and over again. They’re also a hoot to make!

I made a total of nine different styles of stoppers, each from a different wood species or material type. That’s another aspect of this little turning project you’ll enjoy: you have the freedom to create nearly any “knob” profile that suits your fancy, as well as the potential to turn the top portion from a wide variety of wood colors and grain patterns. I used cherry, maple, Bolivian rosewood, ebony and figured walnut for mine. I also turned three from color-laminated birch Spectraply and two varieties of swirly multi-colored resin blocks from Rockler.

Stopper Turning Tool Options

If you’re new to woodturning and apprehensive about using conventional high-speed steel turning tools, today’s carbide insert tool options offer a simpler way to dip your toe into spindle turning without requiring special tool-handling skills or the need for sharpening. I used flat, round and diamond-shaped options extensively here. I also found that “negative rake” carbide cutters worked particularly well to reduce tearout and chipping, especially on resin and splintery Spectraply. A variety of steel turning tools will also work for this application, of course. Small spindle gouges, scrapers and parting tools — the same ones you’d use for any other spindle project — will make quick work of your turning efforts here.

A Quick Exercise in Simple Spindle Turning

Depending on the density and hardness of the wood species you use for the stopper top blank, its end grain may not be strong enough for threading. Here the author is drilling and tapping into the face grain instead for this reason.

Forming the tops for these stoppers is a simple example of spindle turning. You’ll need a threaded mandrel for holding the turning blank in the lathe’s headstock. Rockler offers two options — one with a #2 Morse taper end that I used here or a variation that can be clamped to a drill chuck installed in the lathe instead.

Thread the blank onto a steel mandrel that’s designed for bottle stoppers. The author used Rockler’s mandrel option with a #2 Morse taper that friction-fits into the lathe’s headstock spindle to hold the blank securely.

Start this project by cutting a blank for the stopper top from at least 10-1/2″-thick material about 2″ long. Find the center points for both ends by drawing diagonal lines from corner to corner. The stopper hardware is threaded with a 3/8″-16 stud, so drill a pilot hole for it using a 19/64″ or 5/16″ twist bit. Bore the hole around 5/8″ deep. Now tap the hole for threads using either a tap for wood or metal; both will work. Install the mandrel in the headstock and thread the blank onto the mandrel. Then bring the tailstock, equipped with a live center, up against the open end of the blank to support the initial “rough” stages of turning.

Bring a live center, mounted in the lathe’s tailstock, up against the open end of the blank. Then turn the block into a cylinder using a flat-edged carbide-insert turning tool, a scraper or a small spindle-rouging gouge.

Here’s when the fun starts! Using either a flat-edged carbide-insert turning tool or a small spindle roughing gouge, turn the blank from a block shape into a cylinder with the tool’s cutting edge aligned with the lathe’s axis of rotation and the lathe set to around 800 to 1,000 rpm. Once the corners are removed, you can increase the speed to around 1,500 to 1,800 rpm.

Turn the top’s overall profile to shape. Since you’re likely to still be removing a good amount of material, leave the live center in place for this step. Try a variety of turning tool shapes and let creativity be your guide.

From here, let creativity guide you as you turn the top’s outer profile to shape. Turn down the end closest to the mandrel so its diameter matches the mandrel’s end diameter. This will ensure that the steel stopper hardware transitions nicely into the turned piece. I used various tools to shape the tops of my stoppers, including a small spindle gouge, round- and diamond-shaped carbide-insert tools and even a few small conventional high-speed steel scrapers, depending on the cuts I was after. When mapping out your top’s profile, remember to leave enough thickness so the threaded portion will form a strong connection, and make sure the shape offers a comfortable way to grip and pull the stopper from a bottle. Other than that, the top’s style is open to your imagination!

The end of the top is another opportunity to do something interesting with your stopper profile. Inside or outside curves, scallops, concentric rings or a series of lines could make the overall shape even more unique.

Once I was happy with the general shape of the side profile, I removed the tailstock and live center and turned the end of the stopper tops to various coves, roundovers and scallops to create a pleasing end to the form (see photo 4). Consider the end of the top to be another opportunity to flex your creativity.

No matter how smooth the surfaces are after turning, they will always be improved by sanding. Here, the author keeps his fingers cool by insulating behind the sandpaper with a piece of synthetic scrub pad.

No matter how skilled you are with a sharp lathe tool, a final regimen of sanding is always in order. I started with 120 grit and progressed up through 180-, 220- and 320-grits, holding the sandpaper against small pieces of synthetic scrub pads to prevent burning my fingers. On my two resin stopper tops, I used micro-abrasive pads and sanded all the way to 12,000-grit for a silky-smooth surface. That was followed by buffing to a shine with liquid Novus® #2 Fine Scratch Remover for Plastics and a soft cloth. You can finish wooden tops for these bottle stoppers however you like. Ordinary paste wax, a friction finish or even thin CA glue could work, applying the finish with a cloth while the top spins on the lathe. Super-hard species such as ebony, cocobolo or various other rosewoods may look great just by sanding to a very high grit and burnishing the bare wood to a polish. Another option would be to topcoat with aerosol polyurethane. Since these stoppers will be subject to wine or liquor, keep in mind that shellac can be dissolved by alcohol. Avoid it here for durability’s sake.

If you’ve turned the threaded end of the top carefully to match the diameter of the mandrel’s end, it will transition nicely into the stopper hardware. Apply finish on or off the lathe, then thread the parts together.

Once finished, simply unscrew the top from the mandrel and thread the stopper hardware onto it. Your little handmade jewel is now ready for its inaugural bottle.

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Woodworker’s Journal September/October 2022

Matt Hocking — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 15:27:26 +0000

Projects Include: Hideaway Bed, Bottle Stoppers, Crosscut Jig, Slatted Trivet, Turned Tops

Techniques: Cutting dovetails

Tools: Track saws, Sawstop CTS Compact Table Saw

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Slatted Trivet Pattern

Matt Hocking — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 15:00:30 +0000

Combining straight lines and gentle curves, this trivet is both practical to use and pleasing to the eye.

You can download our pattern for the slatted trivet, right here.

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VIDEO: Spinning Turned Tops

Ernie Conover — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 20:22:15 +0000

Ernie Conover explores two different styles of spinning top toy that you can make on your lathe, including one that’s super powered!

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VIDEO: Installing a Butt Hinge

Rob Johnstone — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 20:10:02 +0000

In this video, Rob Johnstone shows you the step-by-step process for cutting and installing butt hinges on a frame.

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VIDEO: Sawing Through Dovetail Pins

Ernie Conover — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 20:02:40 +0000

Ernie Conover explores how to cut through dovetail pins by hand. You’ll learn how Ernie likes to clamp the work pieces to the bench, how he saws the sides of the pins and how he sets up to chisel out the waste.

Explore more of Ernie’s dovetail making process with his Premium Video Series. This series is free for subscribers of the Woodworker’s Journal print magazine.

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VIDEO: Making a Slatted Trivet

Rob Johnstone — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 19:51:23 +0000

This small trivet project might seem relatively simple, but it requires quite a bit of machining and prep work. A Magswitch Universal Featherboard helps make all the cuts easier and more safe.

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VIDEO: Making a Murphy Bed Twin Bed

Rob Johnstone — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 19:22:56 +0000

Thanks to the easy adjustability of this patented mechanism, a mattress that’s too heavy to lift, or too light to stay down, can be balanced in just seconds for effortless lifting and lowering. With standardized hardware mounting positions across all sizes, installation is a cinch. The commercial-grade gas pistons provide smooth, quiet operation. Includes swing-down metal legs and all mounting hardware.

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September/October 2022 What’s in Store Roundup

Matt Hocking — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 17:41:17 +0000

Rockler Branding Iron Alignment Jig

Oneida Dust Deputy 2.5 Deluxe Kit

Festool PHC 18 Mobile Charging Station

Rockler Pneumatic Clamping Systems

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