# Eccentric Bottle stopper



## Mose (Dec 7, 2010)

I am new to turning so let me know if I'm naive or WAY off center here. 

I was looking at video on eccentric turning and read the http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f6/multi-axis-candleholder-30753/ thread, which was amazing work by the way, which got me thinking. 

Could I mount a blank on a bottle stopper mandrel and turn a cool off center stopper? Or am I asking for many stitches? I've looked online and couldn't find anything, and couldn't find anything on the forum, but it doesn't mean it's not there. 

My plan is to buy a face shield, check my medical insurance, update my life insurance and maybe give it a whirl this weekend. 

Thoughts, comments, concerns? Thanks.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Depending upon how new to turning you are, I would suggest you master the basics before you attempt something that advanced.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Well bottle stoppers are pretty small and not dangerous to turn but off axis turning can be difficult if your tool skills are not there. You won't be able to turn off center using a mandrel. I would mount it between centers. You can turn pretty much all of it that way and just have to clean up one end after parting off the flat end. Drilling it would be a challenge after that however.


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## Mose (Dec 7, 2010)

To say I'm new to turning is actually generous. A few pens, a rattle and now two magic wands, so I would say I'm just shy of a master right? There are more basics to learn than I am even aware of at this point, one of which is getting my tools sharper, I'll be working on that research this weekend. 

It was just something that struck me as a way to make a bottle stopper a little "extra cool" without getting too advanced. However, in all honesty I don't have much of a scale of advanced vice basic, except for the very basic. The other multi-axis, eccentric stuff looks very advanced to me and I'm not touching it. 

Thanks.


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## txpaulie (Jul 21, 2010)

Mose,
Experimentation is one of the joys of turning...
Chuck up some scraps and go to town!:thumbsup:

Costs nothing but time, and maybe an eye or two, and your bound to learn new tricks.
Sometimes we manage to get to our destination, despite a circuitous route!
I'd wager that many turners can make similar projects, using very dissimilar techniques.

Oh, and...
Take pics!

p


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## don716 (Mar 1, 2008)

Post a picture if you make one. I would love to see something new like that.


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## wildwood (Jan 25, 2011)

I still prefer no chuck for off center turning with drive center in headstock and live center in tailstock. Concept not hard to grasp, if practice on scraps first. Plenty of help on line.

Nice to know info:
Penn State is offering an Off Center Chuck 
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/CSC600.html

http://www.pennstateind.com/catalog/full.php?page=5

Of course, new item is out of stock. 

Axminster might be a better deal, can read pro-con on reviews on-line. 
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/w9sm/brands/Axminster--Eccentric-Chuck-System--axmin-eccent?Args=

Not sure, who sells Escoulen/Vicmarc chucks lots of extra parts. 



 
http://www.vicmarc.com/downloads/Vicmarc%20Escoulen%20Manual.pdf

Of course can use your regular scroll chuck to to do off center turning too.
http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3825


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## Mose (Dec 7, 2010)

Ok, 

So I didn't get to my full plan of bottle stopper but I got the below done. I had some cherry I put up in spur drive and live center. I turned down the top of the glass. Since I have a shopsmith you can rotate the tailstock off center. So I turned it toward the back of the lathe a few spots and put the live center in off center. I turned the middle and came back into center and finished the base. I have know idea what to use it for if anything other than self education, so I haven't finished it. 

Having never turned anything off center and very little on center for that matter it was a good lesson in what to expect and how it feels. I'm am beside myself that it came out in one piece and no stitches....yet. So with this knowledge maybe I can mess around with some bottle stopper stuff. 

Thanks for the advice and pointers. I learned a lot by trying this. The addiction grows.


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

Shopsmiths make it too easy to do off center turnings.:thumbsup:


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