I have a question for Dominic Greco re 2008 Woodturning Design article

Jack Kerwood

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Rome GA
In a 2008 article in Woodturning Design Dominic Greco has an article on making a a bottle stopper chuck. He used a piece of mild steel from his scrap pile to make the chuck. I located a 3/8 X 5 piece of M2 HSS at MSC. I want to ask him if this would be OK to use. The email adress with the article is obsolete. I would appreciate hearing Dominic or others opinions or getting an up to date email address. Jack Kerwood Rome, GA
 
In a 2008 article in Woodturning Design Dominic Greco has an article on making a a bottle stopper chuck. He used a piece of mild steel from his scrap pile to make the chuck. I located a 3/8 X 5 piece of M2 HSS at MSC. I want to ask him if this would be OK to use. The email adress with the article is obsolete. I would appreciate hearing Dominic or others opinions or getting an up to date email address. Jack Kerwood Rome, GA

Dominic is a mod over at Woodnet's Handtool forum. His email address from his website TGIAG Toolworks is Dominic@tgiag.com. His handle over at Woodnet is Blacky's Boy.
 
Jack, are you planning to use the M2 steel for the chuck itself, or for cutting the mild steel that you make the chuck out of? If you're planning to use it for the chuck itself, M2 HSS is gonna be next to impossible to cut threads in. It's not mild steel.
 
His device is really a spur drive mandrel rather than a Chucki. It moves the turning 4 in out from a Jacobs chuck which allows turning of the complete to without reversing the turning. Jack
 
I'm confused, Jack. I've never seen a bottle stopper that needed to be reversed. I've always just threaded the blank onto a mandrel and turned it. The end that's attached to the mandrel was turned to match the mandrel diameter (which is also the diameter of the stopper). Do you have a link to any photos of the stoppers you're referring to?

By the way, welcome to the forum. :wave:
 
I use Ruth's stuff exclusively. She has a great mandrel that is still in use today. The shim plate alone makes great stopper blanks! Stoppers aren't easy...but there is no reversing needed, unless you have a lathe that will reverse for sanding.
 
I heard from Dominic this morning. He agrees that the M2 would be better for the "chuck" than the mild steel he used. It is more of a spur drive that goes into a drilled hole in the stopper than a chuck. To help with the confusion this is what I am doing. I have been making 25-35 Christmas Ornaments each year for friends and family since I took a class with Bobby Clemons in 2000 at the Folk School. Every year it becomes harder to find another idea for my ornaments. This year I decided on bottle stopper ornaments. I will be using Ruth's #302 with the unthreaded stud. After I make these ornaments I do not expect the make any more stoppers. I have the needed drills and can get the piece of M2 tax tag and shipping for <$15. I have some other ideas where I will use the spur drive. I hope this clears up the confusion and thank everyone for their help. Jack
 
Glad you got the info you needed, Jack.

Of course, we'd love to see photo of the process, as well as the finished products. :thumb:
 
I received the M@ yesterday and made ground the chuck- mandrel this morning. I have no stoppers and Ruth is out of town at a symposium. I will give her a few days to get caught up and order stoppers next week. I did cut and drill some blanks. I turned them to stopper Christmas ornament shape. The chuck- mandrel worked as promised for a cost of $$20.53( There had been a price increse since my big book was printed in 2010. The article was in the Winter 2008 issue 16 of Woodturning Design or contact Dominic Greco dominic@tgiag.com
 
Don't know if you are still looking for info on pin chuck. I made one yesterday and another today. Mild steel from Big Box works well. Just file one section flat, use a nail for pin. I ground one down using a small side grinder until close to what I needed. I finished with a file. The flat section should be filed until the pin is level with o.d. of steel piece. If o.d. is supposed to be 3/4", then file the flat until the pin placed in center of flat is level w/ pc. of round steel. Caliper or micrometer can be used for measurements. Works great! Just drill a hole the same diameter as round pc. of steel, slide wood onto it with pin in place, then rotate wood until it tightens on vise. To remove, just rotate in opposite direction until turned pc slides off. I used a regular chuck to hold the pin vise and turned a bottle stopper. I supported the wood w/tail until ready to finish turning that end.
 
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