Critique Needed

[Joe Pfeifer]

I made the mistake of telling my sister I would make bottle stoppers as her wedding favors. 1 down, 74 more to go. Anyway, the pictures are of the maple bottle stopper, 1 coat of tung oil, white diamond and carnauba buffed. Creeker Eric Wegesin from the Engraver's forum made the plastic inserts for me. Because of the size of the insert, it's a different shape than any other bottle stopper I've made. Any critiques or suggestions for the shape would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Terry Rothwell]

Nice job. I like it as is.

[Scott Conners]

Looks great! I usually make my stoppers in a variety of short and tall for people who want to put them in the fridge as well as on the counter, but I'm not sure which would be most appropriate for wedding favors. Your design looks good though!

[Greg Just]

What a great idea! You have 4 months to complete the project. Good luck.

[Richard Madison]

Joe,
Suggest a little larger "flange" at the bottom and a steeper taper and cove into the flange. Would still be a simple shape to repeat many times. Would take a day or two to get a picture, but others will jump in here with good ideas.

[Kirk Miller]

Joe,
I like that, I somehow doubt you will after 70some of them......lol

[Billy Tallant]

Joe, your design looks good as it is. But I'm sure you will find a design you are happy with after doing 74 more...:)

[alex carey]

WOW, 75 of them, that sounds like a lot of work. Looks good though. How long you estimate each one will take. Keeping in mind you'll probably go faster and faster as time goes on.

[Toney Robertson]

Joe,

I really think it looks good. The insert is a nice touch.

The only question I have is on the wax. Carnauba wax water spots very easily so if people actually use the stoppers and take them in and out of the fridge I could see condensation forming on the stoppers which would ruin the shine. Not to mention if and how the wax would react to wine.

I personally use lacquer on my stoppers. Renaissance wax would probably also work nicely.

Toney

[Joe Pfeifer]

Thanks for all the comments. It's only a matter of time before I start seeing bottle stoppers in my sleep now.

Alex- As far as time, I think I can get them down to less than 10 minutes each. I am using a pin chick with the live center in place so I can take pretty aggressive cuts to speed things up.

Toney- Great advice about the wax. I used the tung oil because I wanted something I could put on while it was still on the lathe. Wasn't shiny enough, so I went with the wax. I think I will be using spray lacquer for the rest of them.

[John Fricke]

I heard a rumor that she was expanding the guest list since you were doing such a nice job.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Joe - I like your stopper design as is! Looks great!

I just started using Deft wiping lacquer for small items like these and it can be applied while on the lathe. Really speeds things up! The Renaissance wax is supposed to not show finger prints or water spots - which is a big problem with carnuba - so that may be something worth checking into. Also, Lee Valley has their version of the wax, Conservator's wax, and is about 1/2 the price. Again, just something for you to consider.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Joe stopper looks great and I like the design. I also use lacquer on mine. Works well and fast.