Ruth Niles Stoppers

[Rick Prosser]

I have seen a flurry of posts about copycat stoppers:mad: and patent violations:mad:, and I am not adding to that thread.

I have yet to turn a bottle stopper, but I was planning to try one soon - probably Ruth's due to the good comments. I have seen long ones, short ones, stainless and chrome. (also cork and plastic)

What is different about her stopper? Does it fit more types of bottles? Does it seal better? What is patent-able about her design - form, fit, function?
Or, asked another way - why would someone copy it?

Just curious.

[John Terefenko]

It is the fact they are a low profile so easier to get in a friidge if you chose to. Also they are stainless steel and will not pit like those fancy chrome ones you see. Ruth is a great person to deal with and great prices. She is a turner so she knows about turning and will help any time you ask her.

[Rick Prosser]

Low profile - as in shorter than the other stoppers, or the O rings are located higher?
Stainless - so she has (had) the only stainless steel version?

[Charles Murphy]

You can get stainless at Arizona Silhouette too. I made a few for Christmas presents and went with the stoppers from Ruth Niles.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Rick, she gets hers from a supplier in Canada I believe (she mentioned it to me but I don't recall for sure). I found the same product from a French Canadian supplier, but I figure for the few cents/per savings I'd just go with Ruth.

And as mentioned she is great to work with. Realy nice, fast service. The the product is high quality and as mentioned she has a nice sight with helpful tips on making stoppers.

As for the "qualities" of the stoppers, the stainless won't corrode or flake like chrome. They are shorter and lower profile so they don't sit out of the bottle very high like some others. There are three o-rings so they ostensibly should work on virtually all bottles. The only thing I'm not crazy about is that I'm hesitant to lay a bottle on its side since the fit of the o-ring will vary based on the diamter of the bottle opening. That has been the only potential shortcoming I've seen.

[David Walser]

Rick,

I'm aware of three suppliers of stainless steel stoppers, Ruth Niles, Arizona Silhouette, and Craft Supplies USA. Here a links to the stainless steel stoppers I'm aware of:


Ruth Niles: http://www.torne-lignum.com/stoppers.html


As has already been said, Ruth's stoppers are different in that they are "low profile" -- virtually all of the "non-wood" portion of the finished stopper goes into the bottle. This gives a very clean look. Ruth makes her stoppers with several different mounting options. She offers the stopper with a threaded or unthreaded stud, a stopper with a flat disk, a flat top, or a threaded or unthreaded hole. Most turners use either stoppers with the threaded or unthreaded stud.


Craft Supplies USA: http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Projects___Bottle_Stoppers___Droplet_Bottle_Stoppe r___droplet_stop?Args=


The CSUSA stopper has a "droplet" shape that is supposed to prevent the finished stopper from being top heavy. (This product may not be exclusive to CSUSA. I've not seen it anywhere else.)


Arizona Silhouette: http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/Bottle_Stopper_Kits.htm


Scroll down to see Arizona Silhouette's line of stainless steel stoppers. Note: Bill has two different sizes of stainless steel stoppers. His "mini-stopper" seems to be low-profile like Ruth's. (Ruth's stopper had a blunter point and has a brushed finish. Arizona Silhouette's stopper has a longer point and is shinny. I prefer the looks of Ruth's stopper.)
HTH

[Bernie Weishapl]

Her stoppers are second to none. She is also great to deal with and is a great person to talk with about turning.

Jake I don't believe she gets them from a supplier in Canada. She has a person up their that is a supplier of her bottle stoppers as she has a US patent on hers. Thats what she told me when we were in Richmond. Right now she is in a legal rangle with a guy in Canada who ordered one of each of her stoppers, started making them and selling them. He sold some here in the States which is a violation of her patent. Nuff said as you can read about it on some other forums.

[Rick Prosser]

I found a link to the actual patent
http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/D575639.html

The patent is for the ornamental design - not the material.

[Steve Trauthwein]

I also like Ruth's stoppers. Her service is prompt and she has a really great product. I think the stainless steel is a great selling point with the bottle stoppers. I recommend that people do not put them in the refrigerator, as I believe the contrast in temperatures will cause havoc with any finish on wood.

I don't see the necessity to lay a bottle on its side with an o-ring stopper. The tradition of laying wine bottles on their side is to seal the cork. If the cork drys out it will no longer seal the bottle.

Regards, Steve

[Barbara Gill]

Rick, she gets hers from a supplier in Canada I believe (she mentioned it to me but I don't recall for sure). I found the same product from a French Canadian supplier, but I figure for the few cents/per savings I'd just go with Ruth.

The only thing I'm not crazy about is that I'm hesitant to lay a bottle on its side since the fit of the o-ring will vary based on the diamter of the bottle opening. That has been the only potential shortcoming I've seen.


The first statement is incorrect. She originally made the prototypes herself and now has them made in a local machine shop. The owners of the machine shop share the patent. There is one distributer in Canada, Lionel Bedard.

If you check her site there is a picture of a bottle on its side with one of her stoppers in place. That is my picture. The bottle was left that way for a day without any leakage.

[Scott Conners]

I guess I'm the odd man out, but I found the stoppers I bought from her lacking in fit and finish and will be trying Arizona Silhouette's SS version with silicone stopper flanges before I buy from Ruth again. Her stoppers have machining chipout along the edges of the slots for the o rings and along the top corner, and the nose radius is not smoothly machined into the taper. I'd like to see nice smooth chamfered edges instead of sharp chips. They also take quite a bit of work if you want a higher polish, and polishing around or removing the o rings is a pain.
I appreciate the idea of SS lasting and wearing better, but some of the people who got stoppers for Xmas remarked about the ragged finish on the stoppers, which doesn't suit the inner perfectionist in me. :D

I won't do anything until I hear the verdict of the patent issues, but looking at the picture it actually looks like the copycat versions have a better fit and finish, with chamfers and a high polish visible, as well as a smooth nose transition. It's just a photo however, I'd like to see one in person.

[David Walser]

...
I don't see the necessity to lay a bottle on its side with an o-ring stopper. The tradition of laying wine bottles on their side is to seal the cork. If the cork drys out it will no longer seal the bottle....

I agree that wine bottles don't "need" to be laid on their side if a real cork is not used. However, sometimes people still want to lay the bottle on its side -- so it'll fit in the fridge or fit back into the wine rack. In that case, it's nice to know that an o-ring stopper will not leak if the bottle is laid on it's side.

[Barbara Gill]

Scott, did you let Ruth know about the problem? I have probably bought several hundred and they have been fine.

[Scott Conners]

Barbara, I didn't consider it a problem - I too would consider the stoppers "fine," just not with the attention to detail I prefer to present in my work.
The pictures on her website were too small to notice the nub on the tip of the stoppers without knowing to look for it, and the rough edges and unpolished surfaces don't seem like a defect, just a choice of cost vs level of fit and finish.
I also wasn't thrilled with the fit in a couple of bottle I tried, and I'm hoping the silicone might seal them better. I did happily use them and I expect them to serve admirably, but my next order will be from a different supplier in search of a higher polish and cleaner edges.

[Jake Helmboldt]

The first statement is incorrect. She originally made the prototypes herself and now has them made in a local machine shop. The owners of the machine shop share the patent. There is one distributer in Canada, Lionel Bedard.

If you check her site there is a picture of a bottle on its side with one of her stoppers in place. That is my picture. The bottle was left that way for a day without any leakage.

I stand corrected. I think it was Bedard's site that I found and must have assumed that was who machined them for her.

As follow-up the finish on the ones I received was fine; no chips, bad edges, etc. Cleanly machined. But I would prefer a more positive engagement of the seal for anyone that did want to put the bottle on its side (such as in the fridge as others mentioned).