Wine Bottle Stopper

In this Instructable I'll show you how to make a wine bottle stopper on the wood lathe. This is part of a 6 Days of Beginner Woodturning series I'm launching. I'll have 5 more videos all showing some easy projects you can make on the lathe that make great gifts.

Be sure to watch the video above, and if you like it please subscribe to my YouTube channel!

If you want some more detail you can check out my blog post: http://fixthisbuildthat.com/how-to-turn-a-bottle-stopper/

Step 1: Gather Tools and Materials

Tools Used

• JET 1221VS Lathe
• Carbide Turning Tools
• Live Center
• (Jacobs) Drill Chuck
• Nova Midi Chuck
• Better Chuck <$100
• ⅜” Tapping Mandrel
• Caliper Set
• 1/16” Parting Tool
• Pull Saw

Materials/Supplies

• Bottle Stopper Turning Blank<
• Bottle Stopper Hardware
• Turner’s Sanding Strips
• Woodturner’s Finish
• Micro Mesh Sanding Pads

Step 2: Prepare the Blank for Turning

I'm using a Mahogany blank that was 2"x2"x5".

I marked the center of the blank on both ends then mounted it in the lathe between a spur center live center.

I used a carbide tool to turn the blank from square to cyclindrical.

Step 3: Drill Hole for Bottle Stopper

Next I mounted the blank in a chuck and tightened it up.

I mounted a drill chuck in the tailstock and put a 9mm drill bit in it to drill the hole.

Step 4: Mount Turning Blank on Mandrel and Rough Turn

After the hole was drilled I swapped in a 3/8" tapping mandrel in the headstock.

I screwed the blank onto the threaded mandrel and this establishes the threads for the hardware later and let's me turn the shape down.

I begin the final turning first by removing a lot of material and then forming my shape.

Step 5: Cut Blank to Size and Shape

I used a pull saw to cut the blank to the size I wanted and remove excess material.

Then I formed the end of the bottle stopper with my carbide tools.

Step 6: Size the End of the Stopper

I finished the shaping with the end that will screw into the stopper hardware

I used a set of calipers to get the exact diameter I needed for the hardware and shaped the blank until I got to that size.

Step 7: Sanding and Finish

I sanded the blank from 150 to 600 grit with woodturners sanding strips.

Then I applied a heavy coat of woodturners finish.

I applied 4 more coats sanding in between with micromesh pads and after the final coat went all the way up to 12,000.

Step 8: Final Product & Day 2 to Come!

I mounted the stopper hardware and was done with this easy project.

I'll be doing 5 more easy woodturning projects in the coming days.

You can follow along by Subscribing to my YouTube channel.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Brad