Here are a few wine bottle stoppers that I turned recently. Of these ten stoppers six are made of Cocobolo and four are made of Zebrawood and all are done in the ‘flame’ style. I found that this seems to be the most popular shape.

I was inspired to make these after my daughter requested stoppers for her three female friends from work (the four guys got pens) which she wanted to give as gifts when she finished up her summer work term.

It had been a while since I turned any wine stoppers so it took a bit of practice on some scrap wood to get the feel and motion to getting the curve just right.

There were a couple of changes since my last foray into turning stoppers, most notably the switch to the chrome base instead of the cork base. I believe that the chrome base adds an air of elegance and when combined with an exotic wood makes for very attractive pieces.

Continue reading 'Little Old Wine Stopper Turner Me'

We kicked off the 2009-2010 season of the Nova Woodturners Guild the other night and if this meeting is any indication of what we can expect for the rest of the year we are in for a great time!

The meeting began with a meet and greet, a chance to catch up on what we all did this past summer. As you can imagine, with over 30 members in attendance there was a buzz in the air from the multitude of conversations going on at the same time and the excitement of a new year. It was just like ‘old home’ week!

We met at Halifax Specialty Hardwoods which has become our kickoff spot for the past couple of years. The large retail and shop areas make for a welcomed outing and is very conducive for a get-together such as this, a place where we can peruse while chatting.

Once the meeting got underway it was quickly handed over to Halifax Hardwood Specialties owner/operator Darryl Vallis who introduced a couple of new species, Ebony and Tigerwood, that are now specially cut to sizes of interest to woodturners. Then it was out to the shop for an introduction to their new six-head moulder:

Continue reading 'A Kickoff To The NWG 2009-2010 Season'

Well, once again we kicked off a new season of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association the other night at Halifax Specialty Hardwoods. This has become a welcomed annual event which is always enjoyed by the AWA members and the shop owners alike.

The meeting began with the members catching up on what each other did over the summer and what project plans they have in mind for this winter, all while perusing the more than forty species of exotic and domestic stock on hand.

A short business meeting was held with updates given regarding the club’s by-laws, a call-out for the website member bios and project photos and a member was appointed to update and clarify our business discount opportunities. There was also an update on the bunk building project that we did over the summer.

At this point, Darryl Vallis, the owner/operator of Halifax Specialty Hardwoods, took over the meeting and started with an auction of two large, great looking pieces of Curly Maple which, like most of our auctions, led to a bit of a hot and heavy bidding war.

He followed this with the introduction of two new species of exotic hardwoods; Indian Rosewood and Shedua, a rich, dark, yellowish-brown colored wood with black stripes that comes from West Africa. From then it was on to one of the highlights of the shop tour, the introduction of their latest addition, a six head wood moulder:

Continue reading 'AWA – First Meeting Of 2009-2010 Season'