# How to square a bottle stopper blank



## Neededwill (Dec 7, 2014)

So I received some 2x2x2 bottle stopper blanks but they are not square.  This is the first time I have experienced this.  So I am turning to the experts.  Now I have limited tools so I am looking for a solution with what I have available.  It may not be possible but wanted to ask.

I have: lathe, miter saw, drill press, miter box.

Hope there are some ideas.


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## Fish30114 (Dec 7, 2014)

If you have a miter box it should be fairly easy to just cut them at 90, verified with a square--just cutting off a small piece from the end. Confirm that one side of the blanks is straight--with the square, and your off to the races.


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## ed4copies (Dec 7, 2014)

Hi Randall!!

Making something "square" has two meanings in turning circles.  Do you want the end to be at a 90 degree angle to your drilled hole  or do you want the block to have four equal 90 degree corners?

There is no "of course" answer, since the 4  90degree sides can be important in segmentation, which may be what you are asking.

Whatever your definition, what chucks or other holding devices do you have, for your lathe?


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## BRobbins629 (Dec 7, 2014)

If you can drill the hole for the thread and mandrel, leave the piece in the drill press and follow with a forstner bit - around 3/4" in diameter and only go in until you see a flat spot.  Then the flat will be perpendicular to the hole and you can turn.  No need for it to be square unless there is a pattern.


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## monophoto (Dec 7, 2014)

Randall

About the only time you need bottle stopper blanks to be truly square is if you are doing inlay work - for example, celtic knots.  

Here's the way that I do stoppers.  It is absolutely general - there is no need for the blank to be square at all, and in fact I have made stoppers from random scraps of wood that were anything BUT square.

1.  Identify the grain orientation.  Ideally, stoppers should be spindle turnings with the grain running from top to bottom.
2.  Mark an approximate center on opposing faces of what will be the top and bottom.  This can be done by eye - not need for great precision here.
3.  Mount the blank between centers, and turn to round.  Turn a tenon on the end that will be the top.
4.  Remount in a scroll chuck and face off the bottom. I prefer to make the bottom slightly concave so that the join between the turning and the stopper base will be hidden by the edge of the wood.  An extreme version is this is to use a forstner bit to cut an actual mortise in the bottom about 1/16" deep, but I've come to understand that is really too much work - cutting a slight concave with a gouge is good enough.
5.  Mount a jacobs chuck in the tailstock and drill a hole in the blank.  if the stopper has a 3/8" mounting stud, a 5/16" hole is fine.  Thread the hole with an appropriate tap, and then reinforce the threads by soaking them in thin CA.  After the glue has cured, run the tap in again to clean up the threads.
6.  Sand the bottom end of the blank, and apply finish.  The purpose of this finish is only to prevent moisture from penetrating the wood as the stopper is used, and I usually just use a little thin CA for that purpose.
7.  Remount the blank on a stopper mandrel, and turn to the desired shape.  Sand and finish using your preferred finish.  I normally use either WOP, a shop-made Danish oil (equal quantities of tung oil, spar varnish and turpentine), or pure tung oil.
8.  When the finish has cured, attach the finished turning to the stopper base.  Screw-on is simple.  For the dowel and silicone sleeve type stoppers, enlarge the hole in the turning to match the diameter of the dowel, and then glue the dowel in the hole.


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## Neededwill (Dec 7, 2014)

I just need it to be square so I can drill a hole for my mandrel.  No chucks, I have basic tools.  I can use the square and do the 2 side, top and bottom.


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## Nikitas (Dec 7, 2014)

I usually drill and follow with a forstner bit as mentioned.


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## KenV (Dec 7, 2014)

I was just teaching that to a high school shop kid -  He has rough band sawn blanks.

Find best pattern and turn to cylinder between centers 

Using a Nova live center with small point -- and with the bottom of the stopper at the tailstock turn the bottom of the stopper to a slight concave shape down to the live center -- just over 1/4 inch remaining

Get out the drill chuck and a 9/32 bit -  drill the blank "antler style" using the Les Elm tutorial 2009 to a fat 1/2 inch depth.  Use a knife or a countersink to trim up any rough edges around the hole.

Put your Ruth Niles mandrel into the headstock and add the draw bar.

Thread the rough blank on and start turning


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## Sylvanite (Dec 7, 2014)

I just chuck up the blank and then face the end.  It's easy at that point to cut a small dimple in the center for the drill to follow.  After tapping, I clean up the edge of the hole, sand, and finish the end.

Actually, when facing, I make it slightly concave rather than flat.  That way, if there are any surface irregularities, they won't lead to a gap.

I hope that helps,
Eric


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## monophoto (Dec 7, 2014)

No chuck - no problem.  There are many ways to skin a cat.

You really don't need absolutely square - but you do want the hole that you drill to mount the blank on your chuck to be perpendicular to the face of the blank that you are drilling though.  That way, the mandrel will seat flat against the face of the blank for maximum strength - and more importantly, there won't be an irregular gap between the top of the stopper base and the bottom of the turning when the final product has been completed.  So the question is how can you make sure that the hole is exactly perpendicular to the face of the blank that you are drilling into.  There are two potential ways to do that.

The first is to trim the ends of the blank so that the two end-grain faces are parallel.  You can do that with a chop saw, but you have to be very careful to hold the same side-grain face against the saw fence for both cuts.  That is, you make a cut trimming the left end of the blank, and then slide the blank to the left while holding the same face against the fence and trim the right end.

Now, assuming that your drill press is properly aligned so that the quill travel is exactly perpendicular to the table, place the blank on the table and drill the hole.  The hole will be perpendicular to the face held on the table, and because the end-grain faces are parallel, the drill will enter the blank exactly perpendicular to the opposite end grain face.

The other approach requires that you use a forstner bit.  You first drill a shallow hole in the end of the blank that will eventually be the bottom of the turning using a forstner bit - I suggest using a 1" bit, but the size isn't critical.  The key thing is that because the drill travel is perpendicular to the table, it will also be perpendicular to the face of the blank held against the table - which also means that the bottom of the forstner bit hole will be parallel to the face of the blank held against the table.  Then, hohlding the blank in exactly the same position on the drill press table, when you drill the 5/16" mounting hole for the mandrel, it too will be perpendicular to the face of the blank on the table - but more importantly, it will be perpendicular to the bottom of the hole made by the forstner bit.  And it is the bottom of the hole made by the forstner bit that will mate with the face of the mandrel and later with the top of the stopper base.


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## Jim Burr (Dec 7, 2014)

Square them on the lathe. Just use a machinist square or other accurate measuring tool and correct as needed. This is the one time a carbide comes in handy!


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