Best bottle stopper design?

[Steve Mathews]

Help - I would like to make a few more bottle stoppers but have run out of design ideas. What's your best design?

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Help - I would like to make a few more bottle stoppers but have run out of design ideas. What's your best design?

Lots of designs to see if you go here, BTW, Ruth Niles sell the best bottle stoppers by far.

Gallery | Niles Bottle Stoppers

[Steve Mathews]

Lots of designs to see if you go here, BTW, Ruth Niles sell the best bottle stoppers by far.

Gallery | Niles Bottle Stoppers

Thanks Leo! That's exactly what I wanted and some will offer a real challenge to duplicate, at least for me. And yes, Ruth Niles makes some nice stoppers. I like the ones I recently purchased there better than the ones first purchased from Craft Supplies.

[William C Rogers]

Steve
Here are some of the ones I have done. The first one is resin with shells cast. The second one is cherry dyed and textured with the Sorby micro texturing system.
I keep my stoppers around 2" tall. I only use Niles stoppers. I also add cabochons to some.



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[James A. Brown]

Those are the stoppers I have been using, did try a different brand at first but not the same quality. I do have a question for those that have been doing bottle stoppers. I am using wipe on poly for a finish but don't get a shine to the stoppers but it is durable so far. I tried CA glue and friction polish and got a nice looking finish. However the finish started deterioating with use so went to the wipe on.

[Don Jarvie]

Download the Pinterest App and do a search. Tons of pictures to give you plenty of ideas.

[Ed Davidson]

I stopped making bottle stoppers about 10 years ago, but you can see lots of design ideas here: http://www.yoyospin.com/gallery/stoppers/

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[John K Jordan]

Help - I would like to make a few more bottle stoppers but have run out of design ideas. What's your best design?

Steve, I don't know anything about "best".

I make very few bottle stoppers, just a few for gifts. For things like this I sit down and start making small sketches. In one notebook I have dozens of sketches, some might be good, some so bad I'll never use. When I want to make a few I look over the sketches. When you see designs you like, sketch them in a notebook, then sketch a few variations. You might be surprised how much that helps.

Here are some recent ones I've made followed by a few closeups, some older, and the way I hold them for turning. Maybe you will be inspired or maybe you will learn what you don't like - some of them I don't like!

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I use only Ruth Niles hardware and these days I use her threaded mandrel to reverse and turn the top. Her new five-o-ring stopper design fits more than wine bottles.

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Consider who you buy from. Some cheaper hardware is made with lower quality stainless steel.
(And one seller blatantly duplicated her design before she thought to apply for a patent.)

JKJ

[stu senator]

I avoid pointy tops as some people will try to push them in by hitting the top with their hand. Ouch.

I have used the Niles stoppers and they are good. I also use the off white plastic type and they will also seal most bottles including beer and hold the pressure. To insert push, to remove twist as you pull or the plastic can come off. These are cheaper, less then $1.00 a pop.

Stu

[Peter Blair]

I took a totally different approach here are a few shots of the type I make I can't seem to find all the photos right now but this type lends it's self also to golf balls and are a pretty good seller at my Annual Art and Craft Sale. The 'corks' are cheap or free if you can find friends who toss them out when their vodka bottles are empty. These guys are cool as well because they sit flat and thus are easy to display. There is an article published in an AAW Journal explaining my process if anyone is interested?

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[John K Jordan]

There was some discussion about this on another forum years ago when someone made the same statement. The general consensus from everyone else was that it would take a special person to whack a pointed stopper in with their hand. If I made them to sell to the public (which I don't and won't) I would also avoid the pointed top since I have a suspicion some of the people out there may lack basic wisdom.

Unlike a cork, the o-ring design of the Niles stopper hardware needs no force but a gentle twist with the fingers. When I show a variety and let people pick, the design with the pointed "flame" is often picked first.

JKJ

I avoid pointy tops as some people will try to push them in by hitting the top with their hand. Ouch.

I have used the Niles stoppers and they are good. I also use the off white plastic type and they will also seal most bottles including beer and hold the pressure. To insert push, to remove twist as you pull or the plastic can come off. These are cheaper, less then $1.00 a pop.

Stu