Sacagawea Dollar Stopper

    I’ve finished making a bottle stopper with one of the Torne Lignum kits, and I’m pleased with the kit itself.  It uses the same drill bit as some off the other stoppers I have made, so no additional investment needed there.  It was able to fit on my previously-purchased mandrel, as well. I believe that making stoppers would be considerably easier with a tap to thread the wood after drilling, but I prefer my current ‘screw onto the headstock’ mandrel over one that has a morse taper.  (TL has a MT2 mandrel that is also a tap.)  My drill chuck (which has a morse taper) tends to pop out at times with any pressure at all being exerted towards the tailstock.  I don’t want to deal with that on my bottle stopper mandrel as well.  It is easy enough to solve with some all thread, a washer, and a nut, but why bother?  What I have works, so I’ll keep using it.

    I chose to insert a Sacagawea dollar that my daughter found in my change jar into the stopper.  Whereas the design itself is rather plain this time, I believe that the figure of the red malle burl combined with the insert gives it some character.