| DIY People: Turning a Wine Stopper |
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You may have seen Nick Cook on DIY People, where he turned a complete wine stopper in about one and half minutes! Nick is the first to admit that he's probably made more wine stoppers than anyone in Georgia, and with practice comes speed. His wine stopper is surly a crowd pleaser, but his underlying message is that turning wood is great fun. Nick teaches wood turning around the world. He regularly gives demonstrations as far away as Australia and New Zealand and as close to home as the Marietta public schools. When Nick's not turning wood, he's teaching. He just may be the most prolific spokesman for the craft in the United States, if not the world. Nick was recently installed in the Wood Turner's Hall of Fame. The tools Nick uses to turn a wine stopper all happen to be fundamental to the craft itself -- and they are items he uses everyday. Here's Nick's list of the tools and supplies: - A wood lathe. They range in price from about $250 for a small beginner's lathe to several thousand dollars for more professional models.
- A 1-1/4" oval skew, which Nick describes as "one of the more intimidating tools in my arsenal." The skew is used to take the rough edges off of a block of wood before shaping it into a wine stopper.
- A 1/2" spindle gouge, also know as a detail gouge. Its long bevel allows for working in the fine areas. Both the spindle and the skew will cost between $30 and $50 each.
- Sandpaper in 200, 400 and 600 grit.
- Some paste wax and steel wool to apply the wax.
- A small dowel.
- A cork and some strong glue.
The wood Nick prefers for this project is Coco-Bola, a rose wood from the managed rain forests of Mexico. Coco-Bola is a very hard wood, and because of its hardness it cuts very well. A softer wood can be used but it tends to tear if your tools are not extremely sharp. "A good wood for someone who's just getting started in turning," Nick advises, "is maple. It's readily available and relatively inexpensive." Starting with a rough block of Coco-Bola about three inches in length, Nick drills a hole to attach a dowel, which is then placed in a chuck. The chuck firmly holds the wood and dowel to the lathe. Then using the oval skew, he takes the rough edges off the wood block and turns it into cylinder. Nick then creates the desired shape of the wine stopper with the spindle gouge (figure A). After shaping the wood, a power sander removes the tool marks (figure B). Nick uses three different grades of sandpaper to smooth the wood. He starts with 220 grit, then 400 grit and finishes up with 600 grit. Note: The higher the number of the sandpaper the finer the grit. With a piece of steel wool, Nick applies wax that has a high Carnuba content and buffs the wine stopper with a paper towel. After removing the piece from the lathe, he takes a drilled cork imported from Portugal, adds a little super glue and slides it onto the dowel. Nick trims the end of the dowel and the wine stopper is complete. "Take a class," Nick advises, "and see if you like it. But know that after you've turned your first bowl, you won't want to stop!"
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