Wine Bottle Stoppers

I took a class on making wine bottle stoppers this last fall at the Cleveland Woodcraft store. Of course, Woodcraft sells the kits to make the stoppers.
The kits include the mandrel to hold the wood for turning, a drill bit to create the hole to attach the wood to the bottom, and four of the metal lower sections, and the plastic washers to seal the bottle. The metal stoppers offer the advantage that they will not pick up the taste or odor from other wines. You furnish the wood and turn it to whatever shape to become the top, decorative part of the stopper.
The class was helpful with several hints to improve the chances of successfully turning the decorative wood top. The kit is set up for you to drill a hole in the wood, thread the wood onto the mandrel and then turn the wood. Once done, unscrew the turned top from the mandrel and thread onto the metal post of the stopper bottom.
The class suggested drilling the wood blank to accept a 1/4"x20 threaded, brass insert and using CA glue to assure the bond between the insert and wood. This eliminates the chance that a "catch" while turning would strip the threads in the wood and make it difficult to finish turning or to attach the top to the threaded lower section. That suggestion alone was worth the trip to Cleveland and the cost of the class.
I was disappointed, however, when I left the class to buy the kit. They were out of the kits. I actually ended up buying the kit in Columbus when I was visiting there a week or so later.
I have had mixed outcomes mostly because I used some push-in brass inserts instead of the threaded inserts. The deal I got on the push-ins was totally wiped out by the wasted wood when the inserts broke loose and spun in the wood (but refused to dislodge completed!). The stopper on the left is cherry while the one on the left is bubinga. This is one of my 2007 "Unfinished Projects." One down, a lengthy list to go.
Our only problem with the wine bottle stoppers is that we almost always finish a bottle once it is opened - so why do we need one of these stoppers?

Getting ready for next year

On one of the coldest and snowiest weekends of December I spent the better part of the day looking through old wood working clippings to decide on a list of projects to keep me busy next year.

I have literally hundreds of articles from shop tips to furniture that have been sitting around for a couple of years. Some of the furniture - big, tall and deep entertainment centers - have waited so long to be built that they have passed out of fashion. Many of the others are more established designs for furniture or helpful suggestions for jigs and equipment for wood working.

Here is my ambitious list of twenty projects for 2008:

Redwood Garden Arbor
Quarter Sawn Oak “Lazy Lawyer” Revolving Bookcase
Rolling Out feed Cabinet/Planer Cabinet
Ebony and Curly Maple Veneered Chess Board
Cocobolo Table
Western red cedar bird feeder
Hypertufa Trough
Lathe Turning Storage Center
Tape Dispenser
Portable Mini-Lathe Base
Router Bit Cabinet
Set-up and Stop Block
Panel cutting Sled
Walnut Classic Column Bookends
Turned Rustic Birdhouse
Chip carved basswood Christmas stars
Routed picture frames
Walnut maple and oak Keepsake Box
Bamboo, purple heart and cherry Sushi tray
Cherry turned scoop

The list could be embarrassing at the end of the year if I have done little. This is just like writing down a New Year's resolution hoping that you can actually keep the commitment. But I like the mixture of types of projects: woods that I have never used and types of woodworking - intarsia and veneering - that will be new to me. Some have been specially chosen by my wife and some will be destined to be gifts to friends and family. All will be products from my newly organized work shop at the lake. It is exciting to look forward to getting started.

That is, after I finish the "Unfinished Projects" from 2007.

My first experience with milk paint

I just assembled a graduated set of Shaker boxes that were made of maple instead of my usual cherry wood. My intent was to try painting them to have a finish that looked old, faded, and distressed. So I was drawn to milk paint. I wanted to apply this as an exterior finish but keep the interior of the boxes unfinished to prevent any odor contamination with the future contents.

The paint I chose came from Woodcraft and is made by The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co. in Groton, MA. Real milk paint comes as a powder and the size package that I bought makes a pint of liquid paint. It's like no other paint I have ever used. I don't know if I mixed it incorrectly but it was thick, dried almost too quickly to be easily spread, and had a grainy, rough texture. I believe the texture is part of the allure of milk paint. It was supposed to dry and be ready for a second coat in one hour!

And it truly was dry and workable at the end of an hour. As I sanded to prepare for a second coat, I decided that I did not even need the second coat. I had a dusty, "Lexington Green" coat with plenty of "wear and tear" marks from the sanding. It really had been an easy application to this point.

The directions that come with the paint suggest that protecting the milk paint is not necessary but would add some protection to the finish. I decided to use tung oil. The first coat of tung oil reduced the dusty look of the finish but it heightened the intensity of the color. Again, one coat seemed to be enough.

All in all, a very easy experience and I got the type of look that I wanted to try. If you're into the distressed, antique look, this would be an excellent choice. The paint gives the boxes a utilitarian look. Although I'm glad I tried this type of finish, I still like the look of the clear finish on cherry for the Shaker boxes.

I will use these boxes as the containers for other Christmas presents for my wife.

Tis the gift to be simple

My friend, Tim, and I met again to complete the assembly of the Shaker boxes that we began last week. Tim was assembling a set of five graduated Shaker boxes. Their sides are made from cherry and the top is from veneered birdseye maple.

The combination of cherry with birdseye maple is just beautiful. A clear finish will allow the cherry to age from a light-reddish brown to a richer, redder color while the birdseye maple will draw your eye to the top with its yellow and brown dotted look. When we were done on Saturday, Tim was taking the assembled but unfinished boxes home for a final sanding and application of the finish. He does such fine work. I will be excited to see one of them finished.

Before Tim arrived this morning I formed and tacked a graduated set of maple boxes which I will let dry until next week. I want to finish these in a milk paint, distressed finish since I have not done that before.

Both Tim and I each worked on a presentation box which includes a section with a music box that plays "Simple Gifts." It is a more elongated box than the usual Shaker box. The box bottom is made of cedar and in much thicker than the other boxes since it is the sounding board for the music box. The box is divided into two sections: the music box section has an inner acrylic cover while the other section is open to be a storage space.

The lyrics of "Simple Gifts" is a reminder of how important it is to enjoy and maintain the simple things in life, like the friendship I have with Tim. It was so much more fun to share the wood working experience with him.
"Tis the gift to be simple
Tis the gift to be free
Tis the gift to come down
Where we ought to be."

In the shop with a friend

My friend, Tim Sullivan (pictured at left), and I are spending time in the workshop creating Shaker Boxes. We ordered kits from John Wilson in Michigan. We each bought one of the Presentation Boxes and Tim will make his first attempt at a series of cherry boxes.

We are working in a garage workshop with a small electric heater, so it is cold. But the fun of working together and having a good time together makes up for the chill. Tim is a very skilled wood worker but has never made these boxes. In this one small instance of wood working I am the teacher. What a change of our usual roles.

This first weekend we prepared the cherry box sides and heated and bent the wood. We left the boxes to dry over this next week. We will hopefully meet again next Saturday to cut and fit the box bottoms and lid tops. The boxes will then be ready for finishing.