# Bottle stopper help



## Turned Around (Oct 28, 2013)

I have made a decent amount of bottle stoppers, but one thing that gets to me is once the tailstock is removed to finish the shaping of the blank, the drill chuck I had starts to walk out of the headstock.

I do not have a jawed chuck for my small lathe, so I use the tapered drill chuck, and a pointed live center on the tailstock to keep it from wobbling out. Chatter seems to be an issue with some of them as well. What do you guys do to keep them in place during turning?


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## Justturnin (Oct 28, 2013)

Is your drill chuck arbor threaded where you can add a drawbar?  I use a a PSI BS chuck that screws onto my 1x8tpi HS.


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## monophoto (Oct 28, 2013)

The best solution would be to use a bottle stopper mandrel.  Penn State sells them for less than $10, but if you have a spindle tap, you can also make one from a piece of scrap wood and a bolt.  

Absent a stopper mandrel, the next best solution would be to use a drawbar to keep your Jacobs chuck from slipping out of the taper.  If your chuck is threaded to accept a drawbar, you can easily make one from a length of allthread rod from the hardware store, a nut, and a block of scrap wood.


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## Turned Around (Oct 28, 2013)

the drill chuck is not threaded, just tapered. 

I just looked at the stopper mandrel, I HONESTLY never saw those on the site. No clue how those passed me up, but I'm ordering one (just need to check the threading).


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## sailing_away (Oct 28, 2013)

A drawbar would be your best option if your drill chuck is drilled and threaded on the tapered end.  My drill chuck used to work out as well when turing bottle stoppers and off center pendants.  The draw bar took care of it and I have not had the problem since.


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## Justturnin (Oct 28, 2013)

Turned Around said:


> the drill chuck is not threaded, just tapered.
> 
> I just looked at the stopper mandrel, I HONESTLY never saw those on the site. No clue how those passed me up, but I'm ordering one (just need to check the threading).



If your lathe is a 3/4"x16tip I have an insert you can have to make the 1"x8tpi work.


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## Turned Around (Oct 28, 2013)

just looked. both are 1-8UNC. perfect fit. Thanks guys.


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## crokett (Oct 30, 2013)

I had the same problem.  I drilled the end of my tapered chuck and tapped it for 1/4" threaded rod. I thread the rod into the chuck, stick through the head stock spindle and use a threaded knob to keep it tight in the head stock.  A cheap 10 minute fix.  

I also use the drill chuck for pin chucks for closed-end pens.


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## Dan Masshardt (Oct 30, 2013)

I use the psi bottle stopper chuck for chrome and stainless stoppers as well as refrigerator magnets and even shaving brush handles.  

I now use a collet chuck for cork or silicone stoppers with a dowel.  Used to use Jacobs with a drawbar.


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## Deadhead (Oct 30, 2013)

Turned Around said:


> the drill chuck is not threaded, just tapered.
> 
> I just looked at the stopper mandrel, I HONESTLY never saw those on the site. No clue how those passed me up, but I'm ordering one (just need to check the threading).


 
Also consider the bottle stopper chuck from SS Niles. It's a taper chuck with 1/4 threaded back for a drawbar. I have the chuck from PSI and SS Niles; I like the Niles chuck better it has a slot cut into the thread that acts as a tap when you screw the blank on it. I use the PSI chuck with a piece of pine screw on and squared on the end with sand paper. I use that for cleaning WTF and CA off the ends of pen blanks, and also to square pen blanks if I don't have the right size end mill.
Here's the link to Niles
Stainless Steel Bottle Stoppers |Off-Center Jig } Design Gallery

Ben


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