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Monday, April 26, 2010

Bottle Stoppers, Whistles and Pens



I'm not sure I've said it here, but I really enjoy whittling things that have a purpose in life. That's why the pens and whistles are so much fun, and this guy is too. Little frog of Alaskan Yellow Cedar, the stopper part comes from
http://www.rockler.com/
or your local Rockler store. (Think I saw them on eBay too) They come several in a pack, 6 or ten, and have a wooden dowel in the center of the silicone stopper. You'll need a 5/16 or so hole in the bottom of your whittling blank, and I used Epoxy glue to hold them together. After using the stopper for a bit, the silicone occassionally comes off the dowel, as it is only a friction or slide fit. One of these days I'll slip a little clear silicone caulk in there to hold it all together better. Future stoppers (I still have the rest of the pack left) will get the silicone caulk treatment at the beginning. Before I bought these I bought a fancy chrome one, at twice the price of the pack, only to find out it did n't fit the first bottle I opened. Save your money I say.




I used a little green acrylic paint for color, topped by a couple coats of water based polyurethane. Think I'll look at doing one flat plane style....



Here's a gluing tip for you all- when you glue the dowel into a hole check the direction of the end grain on both pieces and line them up, as best you can. Wood expands and contracts along the grain more than across, if the two pices are moving in the same direction (grain lined up) they will hold together longer than if they are growing and shrinking in opposite directions (grains at right angles)

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