CattleMaster247 Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Hey Guys, Still kind of new to the forum, and a moderately skilled turner. I have been turning quite a few bottle stoppers in the past month or so, and have run into an issue with my threaded mandrels from time to time. After finding the center and drilling the mandrel hole, I then proceed to tap/thread the hole, i then run the mandrel into hole, set in lathe and start turning. After turning and finishing the stoppers, from time to time I run into the issue, that the mandrel is locked/stuck in the stopper. and occasional i will set in a vice and remove the mandrel. During this I have had a few pieces of wood crack before the mandrel would release, and on occasion the the wood will lose it's shape from the squeeze. Does anyone have solution to the matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid-woodworker Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 My guess is that the pieces that get stuck are not dry wood. The heat from turning drys the wood and it shrinks slightly. Not sure what the solution would be as anything that would help release the mandrel would interfere with the stopper staying tight. BRuce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 place them in your oven over night on realy low the wood will shrink then you just pull it apart. did this with a few pens it might work with your bottle stopers. can hurt to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CattleMaster247 Posted December 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Much Appreciated guys, I will give it a try and let you know the results. Any other thought will be appreciated as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger T Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Just get a strap wrench and use that to get the stopper off the mandrel. I've had that happen several times. I don't have a strap wrench, but use a strip of leather wrapped around the stopper a few times and a pair of vise grips of channel locks. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I have had pretty good luck with just tossing on a pair of gloves (disposable blue ones) that I normally use for finishing anyway, so they are typically on anyway when I am going to remove the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adambaum Posted December 25, 2012 Report Share Posted December 25, 2012 i used to run into that problem a lot. Then I switched to the PSI kits and got the PSI bottle stopper chuck. Looks like a chuck with a screw sticking out of it. http://www.pennstateind.com/store/PK-BS1-MJ.html This chuck has some flats on it that allow me to use a wrench to help unwind the stopper. Couple it with a glove on the other hand and the stopper always come off the chuck screw. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted December 29, 2012 Report Share Posted December 29, 2012 following up on the strap wrench, you could use one of those lid wrenches for the kitchen, or even a section of non-slip drawer liner (Not having a bottle stopper mandrel, I'm only spouting theory here.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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