ornaments and wine stoppers

[JohnC Lucas]

I had some small pieces of burl left so I filled the spaces with tinted West System epoxy and then turned them. I used the ruth Niles bottle stoppers. the ornaments are color ply and cherry

[Jenny Trice]

Very nice!

[James A. Brown]

Yes; very nice. What finish did you use on the stoppers? Thnks, Jim.

[JohnC Lucas]

right now all of my stuff is finished with minwax wipe on poly. My big compressor is down and I just haven't take the time to get it back up and running. I used to finish most of my work with spray lacquer but the minwax is working so well I might not go back to that. I apply a few coats and then buff with the Bealle buffing system. I don't use the Carnauba wax. I just buff with the tripoli and White diamond. I don't like a thick looking gloss. I prefer a gloss that is a soft glow and looks more natural. Photos never show the gloss very well but I get compliments on my finishes from club members all the time. The ornaments actually needed a few more coats on the spheres's but I needed to get them out and they are acceptable as is.

[Brice Rogers]

some humor:

[Robert Hayward]

I especially like the red plywood you used for the ornaments. Where do you get plywood with vivid colors like that ?

[JohnC Lucas]

I think you can sometimes find it at Woodcraft. Our club in Nashville bought it by the pallet load. It is cut offs from a gunstock manufacturer so the shapes and sizes are really odd and often you have to glue it up just to get an ornament. It used to be sold as Colorply. If you do a search you come up with some results but I haven't tried to purchase from any of the sources.

[Robert Hayward]

I have used quite a bit of Spectraply and still have a big box of acorn birdhouse size pieces of it in the shop. Spectraply is not any way near as colorful as your Colorply, at least the stuff I have is not.

[Don Jarvie]

How fast do you turn the ply so it doesn’t chip like crazy? Also what tools did you use to turn the ply?

I picked up a piece at Woodcraft today so I’m interested in how you turned them.

[JohnC Lucas]

speed has nothing to do with chip out or tearout. It's the tool presentation and sharpness of the tool and cutting across the grain. Scrapers are horrible. What I like to use the most is the Hunter Hercules or Hunter Osprey and use it as a bevel rubbing tool. This wood dulls tools quickly and the Hunter carbide tools will not dull and cut it better than anything else. Here is my video on the Hunter Osprey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnFdDo0jxGU&t=14s

[Billy Tallant]

Great looking stoppers & ornaments!