# Hidden Cork Bottle Stoppers



## tmhawk (Jun 2, 2008)

Five Stoppers. Top left: Mahogany, Japan Style, Top right: Bubinga, Middel Left: Peroba Rosa, Middle Right: Mahogany, Bottom: Arizona Pinon (from firewood). The synthetic cork is recessed up inside the stopper. These were fun to do.


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## doddman70 (Jun 2, 2008)

Those look really cool very nice job!!! is it possible for you to take some pics of the underside? and maybe on a bottle?


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## tmhawk (Jun 2, 2008)

Here is a picture of the "guts" of the stopper. Here is the explanation:I have a different take on Bottle Stoppers. I took the basic idea for the â€œGinterâ€ Stopper and modified it. Here is what I do: take a block 2â€ x 2â€ x 21/4â€ and drill 15 mm or 20mm with a 32mm Forstner bit. Then drill 15mm with a 3/8â€ bit. I put this block on my expanding scroll chuck, HOWEVER, before I got the scroll chuck I just put in on a Jacobs chuck, cut a small piece of waste block for my live center and friction mounted it. Then I turn a bottle stopper. What you can do is take a #2 synthetic cork (I get these from the beer home brew store) and a 3/8â€ dowel rod. I cut the dowel rod and rubber cork to fit in the 20mm hole. CA glue the rubber cork to the dowel rod and CA glue the dowel rod inside the stopper. You cut the dowel rod/rubber cork to fit inside the 20mm forstner hole. What you have is a â€œHidden Corkâ€ bottle stopper. The Bottle Stopper fits over the bottle and you don't see the cork. I donâ€™t use real cork. They guy at the beer home brew store said that almost all real cork has some disease and that the rubber cork (which has a 3/8â€ hole already drilled in it) is sterile. Iâ€™ve made many of these stoppers. You can see a couple of them in my album. Oh yeah Ginter is: http://www.ginterenterprises.com  I am not affiliated with Ginter, he has a good idea.
Good luck.


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## bobm (Jun 2, 2008)

Tony,
Very nice Stoppers. I have been looking for some Pinyon.  I do state quarter bottle stoppers with state tree wood and the state quarters.  I could use some of that for Nevada and New Mexico.  If you have any to spare I'd be interested in buying, begging, borrowing, (would offer to trade but don't really have anything different or unique.)
Thanx
Bob


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## randyrls (Jun 3, 2008)

> _Originally posted by tmhawk_
> 
> Five Stoppers. Top left: Mahogany, Japan Style, Top right: Bubinga, Middel Left: Peroba Rosa, Middle Right: Mahogany, Bottom: Arizona Pinon (from firewood). The synthetic cork is recessed up inside the stopper. These were fun to do.



Tony;    Those look impressive, the stopper won't roll off the table, and if the cork is wet from the wine, it will not stain the surface.


Good job.  I like the design and execution.


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## PaulDoug (Jun 3, 2008)

Great job, Tony.

Questions, do you turn the synthetic cork down in diameter a hair or maybe taper it a hair?  I know when I remove a cork from a wine bottle ant than try to put it back in after a glass, or two, or maybe three of wine, the cork only goes back in a little ways.  Also, Could you only use 1/2 a cork and glue in you dowel but don't go all the way through the cork with the dowel?  This would give a better look to the end of the cork you see.  Was that understandable?

The exposed dowel is going to collect the same germs as old fashion cork.  I really don't put much stock into the old cork verses the synthetic cork though.  Least I read in  the paper daily about people dying off because their wine bottle had a cork, cork in it.

Really like your idea.  My next fun project.  Thanks for posting.


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## laurie sullivan (Jun 3, 2008)

nice......I love this idea. I must give it a try,,,,,,,thanks for the idea.

Laurie


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## onewaywood (Jun 3, 2008)

That's alot of work, I been making hundreds of those for years. A easier way is to buy 2 tenon cutting bits a 3/8 and a 3/4 drill the smaller
one first then the larger one turn it around and slide it into a 3/8 collet with a draw bar and turn away.......


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## tmhawk (Jun 4, 2008)

Hi Richard,
Could you post a picture? I'm always interested in doing things easier. Thanks.


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## eazis1 (Jun 4, 2008)

Once you drill the 2 holes and finish turning, what do you use as a cork insert?


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## tmhawk (Jun 5, 2008)

To answer a few questions:
Paul no need to turn the corks they are cone shaped. They are "#2" corks from a Home Brew shop. They are pre drilled at 3/8". A 3/8" dowel rod works great as it is slightly larger than 3/8".
Elliot here is a picture of the corks, dowel rods and all. If I can help you any other way, just holler.
Thanks.


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## onewaywood (Jun 5, 2008)

I get my pre-drilled corks from Nick Cook.......I find his better than any others I have tried.
as far as pictures go I will try that someday    sorry.


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## PaulDoug (Jun 5, 2008)

Tony, I was just out looking at your photo album, before I came back here to see new posts on this thread.  I realized that you corks were different than I thought.  I did not understand they were already tapered and drilled. Thought you were using syn. corks just like a person pulls out of a wine bottle, than cutting and drilling them yourself.  

I like it!


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## TellicoTurning (Jun 9, 2008)

Tony,
Very cool idea.. I like the inside design that Ginter uses, but yours looks less complicated.. I use the silicon sleeves that slip over the dowels on my bottle stoppers.. I stopped doing the metal cones and tear drops because I think they are too top heavy... do you think the silicone sleeves would work as well?? This is the kind I'm talking about.... 




do you have any objections if I copy your techinique?? 
[8)][8)]


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## tmhawk (Jun 9, 2008)

Chuck,
Great Stopper! Very nice turning. The Silicone Sleeves should work great. OBJECTIONS ! OBJECTIONS ? Says I, Copy Away, Have Fun, just post pics so we can see.  Oh yeah Chuck, uh...where do you get those Silicone Sleeves? (I'd like to do a couple of those...hehe).
The more Stoppers the Better...whoohoo.
Thanks Chuck.


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## winpooh498 (Jun 9, 2008)

> _Originally posted by tmhawk_
> 
> Chuck,
> Great Stopper! Very nice turning. The Silicone Sleeves should work great. OBJECTIONS ! OBJECTIONS ? Says I, Copy Away, Have Fun, just post pics so we can see.  Oh yeah Chuck, uh...where do you get those Silicone Sleeves? (I'd like to do a couple of those...hehe).
> ...



I'm not Chuck, but I was thinking the same thing as him.  I prefer the silicone sleeves.  I get mine from CSUSA, but I noticed that our local WoodCraft has them also. The only thing is they take a step dowel, the top part is 3/8" but the bottom (where the sleeve lives) is bigger. 
Thanks for the ideas.


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## randyrls (Jun 10, 2008)

> _Originally posted by tmhawk_
> 
> Five Stoppers. Top left: Mahogany, Japan Style, Top right: Bubinga, Middel Left: Peroba Rosa, Middle Right: Mahogany, Bottom: Arizona Pinon (from firewood). The synthetic cork is recessed up inside the stopper. These were fun to do.



Tony;  You mentioned a 32mm forstner bit that you use to drill out the center of the stopper.

I like that idea.  My metric converter says 32mm = 1.259"
I have an 1-3/8" (1.375") expanding chuck used for inside chucking of pocket watches.  Came from Penn State Industries.

I just realized that a cheap drum sander is a jam chuck and even has a knob to tighten the area.


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## MDWine (Jun 10, 2008)

What sticks well enough to silicone that ensures that the seal comes out of the bottle WITH the stopper?  

I like the idea, and the execution is great, I'm worried about leaving that silly-cone stuck inside the bottle tho!


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## tmhawk (Jun 10, 2008)

Hi Dawn,
Thanks for the tip on the Silicone sleeves. I didn't know they were stepped. I'll check my local Woodcraft. 
Thanks.


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## tmhawk (Jun 10, 2008)

Randy,
My first stopper were drilled with a 1 3/8" Forstner so that will work fine. Using a Sanding Drum as a jamb chuck is a very smart idea, I like it. (I went to a 32mm because it was just slightly smaller and would give a a little more clearance from the drilled hole to the outside. Just a small amount of wood to work with. The 1 3/8" worked great.)
Thanks.


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## TellicoTurning (Jun 11, 2008)

> _Originally posted by tmhawk_
> 
> Chuck,
> Great Stopper! Very nice turning. The Silicone Sleeves should work great. OBJECTIONS ! OBJECTIONS ? Says I, Copy Away, Have Fun, just post pics so we can see.  Oh yeah Chuck, uh...where do you get those Silicone Sleeves? (I'd like to do a couple of those...hehe).
> ...



Sorry for delay in response... my internet carrier had a server down for about 24 hours... really messes up your day when you are used to popping on-line first thing every morning to look at email and forums... throws the rest of the day out of whack...

The stopper I show is from a piece of applewood I got from a turner over in NC... pretty wood.
I get my sleeves from CSUSA, PSI and Packardwoods... the last ones I bought, just last week from Packardwoods... they silicone part was yellow instead of the clear/opaque white I'm used to... and Dawn is right.. they come with a step down dowel.. 1/2 for the sleeve and 3/8 for the insert into the stopper.  PSI and Packard sells them as a package unit.. dowels and sleeves(10 to a package), but CSUSA sells them as separate pieces.. usually 5 to a package.


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