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The
following tutorial will
guide the novice
to intermediate
woodturner through the
process of making a
one-of-a-kind wine bottle
stopper using my "Captured
Cabochon" (CC) blanks,
available exclusively
through Arizona
Silhouette.
The example shown here
will utilize a Peroba Rosa
wood blank, pre-drilled and
tapped, with an attractive
wine theme drawing embedded
into the blank and covered
with a cast plastic resin. |
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The CC
blank you purchase from
Arizona Silhouette
will
already be drilled and
tapped, to fit the mandrel.
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Next,
you'll need a drill chuck.
In this tutorial, I'm using
a
# 2 mortise taper chuck
set
into the lathe's headstock. |
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Insert
the
stopper mandrel
in the
chuck and tighten it
securely, insuring that the
large ring-washer fits flush
and snugly against the drill
chuck. |
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Here's
another view of the
mandrel
in the
drill chuck. |
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Thread your CC blank onto
the mandrel,
being careful to not cross-thread
(strip-out) the pre-tapped
blank. If you have a
problem here and strip the
CC blank's threads, wrap a
piece of plumber's tape or
masking tape around the
mandrel's threads and
remount the CC blank for a
snug fit. |
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In this photo, you can see a
little compression jig I've
made, that allows the
tailstock's live-center to
be snugged up against the CC
blank without digging into
the resin casting. Note the
little dimple in the end of
this jig, allowing the
live-center's point to seat
without splitting the wood
jig. |
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The wooden jig should have a
flat end about 1/2" square
that fits flush against the
cast resin part of the CC
blank. The purpose of this
setup is to provide support
on the tailstock end of your
blank while turning. |
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Now, tighten up the
tailstock and live-center
against the wooden jig and
CC blank. Don't make it too
tight... |
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Turn the CC blank into a
cylinder as shown here. |
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Now it's up to your
imagination...turn a
pleasing shape. |
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When you've completed the
outside shaping of the CC
blank, move the tailstock
out of the way and remove
the wooden jig. Move
your toolrest up to the cast
resin part of the blank as
shown and about 1/4" below
center. |
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Now, using a sharp skew,
carefully shear scrape the
outer edge of the blank.
Make sure the wood to resin
transition is smooth and
even, and be sure to not cut
too deep, damaging the paper
design underneath the resin.
Also try to get the cast
resin surface as smooth as
possible during this
stage...use a light touch!
Do not try using a gouge or
scraper for this operation,
as it will almost certainly
damage the resin casting. |
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Dry sand the turned blank as
you normally would. Be
careful when sanding the
cast resin area to avoid
heat build up. At this
stage, many turners may want
to continue sanding with
micro mesh. However, I've
found that dry sanding up to
400 grit followed by
a 3-step buff is sufficient. |
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Apply
a coat of
sanding sealer
and wipe off the excess with
a paper towel before it
dries. |
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As you can see, the Captured
Cabochon has a milky looking
surface and will have many
fine scratches on it's
surface...that's normal. |
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Remove the stopper blank
from your mandrel and buff
out the scratches using
Tripoli or Jeweler's Rouges.
I'm using the Beall buffing
system here. |
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Next, a light buff with
White Diamond will polish
the piece. |
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Apply
a coat of
Renaissance Wax,
wait 30 seconds and buff
using the third Beall wheel
(clean...no Carnauba wax). |
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Wait 10 to 15 minutes, then
apply a second coat of
R-wax, wait another 30
seconds and final buff. And
you're done... |
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Special note on turning the
new 3-D Captured Cabochon
blanks...
The three dimensional
porcelain rose is set into a
1/2" deep counter bore.
Likewise, the USMC collar
insignia is set into a 3/8"
counter bore. When turning
your 3-D CC, be careful to
not cut into the backside of
the resin encapsulating
these objects. Have a
careful look at the stopper
photos to the right...note
that the stopper's top is
designed so that there is
plenty of wood left behind
the cabochon and that the
resin has not been cut into.
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