Making a Recessed Wine Bottle Stopper

Happy Friday!!!

It’s been awhile since I last posted and I miss everyone!! I’ve decided that I am going to try and post once or twice a week!

One of my most popular items are the wine bottle stoppers I turn on my wood lathe. They are very unique because they are recessed, meaning that the cork is on the inside of the wine stopper and can not be seen wen the stopper is on the bottle.

I can up with this design 20 years ago when my wife mentioned to me that the wine stoppers I was making were too tall.

A recessed wine stopper has the cork inside and slides over the bottle neck. The couple pictures above are a good example of how they work. You can not see the cork thru the bottle, all you see is the beautiful wine stopper!

 

The colors resin colors are endless, between the Maple burl and the colored resin, each wine stopper is unique. It’s virtually impossible to make two wine bottle stoppers with the same colors!

I start by creating a hybrid blank which I make using Maple burl and colored resin. I cut the piece of maple burl and place it into a square mold and the pour in the colored resin. In about 7 days it is dry and is ready to turn. I really like using the Maple burl, you never know what colors and grain you will see once it is turned.

Then I will mount the blank to the lathe and start turning. Here are a few pictures of the process.

 

 

Once the wine stopper is turned and while still on the lathe, before applying the high gloss finish there is a lot of sanding to do. I will sand starting at 150 grit then 180, 220, 240, 320 grit all the way to 12,000 grit.

I like a high gloss finish, in order for me to get the high gloss I apply 40 to 50 coats of CA finish while the lathe is turning. CA is the short name for Cyanoacrylate glue, super glue.  I apply a few drops of CA to a paper towel and while the late is turning I apply it to the stopper. Then I spray is with a accelerator that dries it instantly. I do this 40, 50 times or more until I am happy with the finish. Once the CA hardens it is very durable.

 

After the finish is done, I will then, buff an polish the stopper by hand. Then I mount the cork. It takes 24 hours for the glue to dry from installing the cork, then is it ready to use!!

 

A wood turned bottle stopper is a great accent to a good bottle of wine.  I enjoy making my recessed wine bottle stoppers!

To see more pictures visit my Gallery of Wine Bottle Stoppers, click here

After months of hard work and dedication, my NEW website is live!! I would love it if you would go take a look, here is the link:  MichaelsWoodcrafts

www.MichaelsWoodcrafts.com

 

For more information, view more images or to order, click SHOP NOW

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One of a Kind Handcrafted Wood Wine Stoppers

For more information, view more images or to order, click SHOP NOW

Handcrafted Wine Bottle Stoppers!

Above: Stabilized Box Elder Burl natural

Above: Dyed gold and green Box Elder  Burl wine bottle stoppers

Happy Valentines everyone!

Since New Year’s I have not spent much time in the shop which has given me some time to think about my work and how precious and valuable our time is.

Over the years I have made a lot of wine bottle stoppers on my wood lathe. The problem has always been once on the wind bottle, they were to tall to get into the fridge without lowering the fridge shelf. I’ve solved this problem by designed a recessed wine bottle stopper. I’ve made the cork disappear inside the wood turning. They have turned out beautiful! Check them out…

Above; all of these were handcrafted with the combination of Black Ash Eye Burl, Padauk and Black Veneer.

Above: Wine Bottle Stopper handcrafted with Maple Burl stabilized and dyed green along with African Blackwood. Photo above by Bob Bernotsky

I want to share a few pictures of the wine bottle stoppers I have turned. Each one is unique but the design is similar.

Close up picture showing the burl wood grain and the recessed cork.

The above two I made using Maple Burl and blue dyed Busheye Burl. I wanted to see how the blue dyed Buckeye Burl would look when finished.

Above, African Blackwood, Holly and Hybrid Maple Burl and Blue Acrylic

The above picture is an African Blackwood, Padauk and Holly wine bottle stopper in progress of being turned on my lathe.

Above, African Blackwood, Padauk and Holly

above, left to right:
Maple Burl, African Blackwood and Holly
Dyed Blue Maple Burl, African Blackwood and Holly
Dyed Teal Maple Burl, African Blackwood and Holly
Black Ash Eye Burl, African Blackwood and Holly
Padauk, African Blackwood and Holly

Below, a few pictures showing my Wine Bottle Stoppers being finished on the lathe.

above, handcrafted wine bottle stopper in progress on the lathe. Stabilized Box Elder Burl dyed teal.

Above, left stabilized natural Spalted Hackberry, right stabilized natural Box Elder Burl

More unique wine bottle stoppers coming soon!

After months of hard work and dedication, my NEW website is live!! I would love it if you would go take a look, here is the link:  MichaelsWoodcrafts

www.MichaelsWoodcrafts.com

Purchasing my work is Simple, click the SHOP NOW button!

Be sure to check out my cutting boards!

Maple Burl

I was searching around today on Craig’s List and found a super deal on a couple of Maple Burl blocks. I got both pieces for $10, on Ebay and other wood stores these pieces would go for $45 plus. Maple burl is hard to get and nearly impossible in my area. I used a little mineral spirits on one side of each piece to show the colors!

Both pieces are 1-5/8 x 2-1/2, one is 17 inches long and the other is 11-1/2 inches long. I am planning to use these to turn a batch of my wine bottle stoppers!! Give me a few weeks and I will post pictures! Happy Days 🙂