How to cut a clean circular hole in cork

Thanks for all the responses so far. I'm finishing up another project this weekend (hopefully) and will begin studying the recommendations. A punch-style thing-a-ma-jig seems to make the most sense for a first attempt, and I'm thinking of trying to operate it on the lathe a la jcp's post.

Keep the comments coming, and I'll post results (with perhaps more questions) as I proceed.

Regards,
Terry
 
and I'm thinking of trying to operate it on the lathe a la jcp's post.

I thought @jcp meant to use the lathe to make the die....not to cut the cork.
-brino
 
I thought @jcp meant to use the lathe to make the die....not to cut the cork.
-brino
Re-reading it, you're probably right. I didn't read it quite that way. I interpreted his post as suggesting making a backing plate out of wood or some such product, mounting the cork on the backing plate and then using the tail stock to move the die into the cork - all NOT under power, of course. Several have mentioned twisting the die as it goes into the cork. It struck me that doing it this way, the chuck could be twisted very easily while the die remains stationary. The advantage I thought he may have been referring to is uniform centering among all the pieces. That's necessary because I need to make about a dozen of them.

Thanks for the clarification. I have several pieces of 1" copper about 2" long, and I had already recognized that making the die on the lathe seemed to make sense. Your clarification makes it clearer.

Regards,
Terry
 
Re-reading it, you're probably right. I didn't read it quite that way. I interpreted his post as suggesting making a backing plate out of wood or some such product, mounting the cork on the backing plate and then using the tail stock to move the die into the cork - all NOT under power, of course. Several have mentioned twisting the die as it goes into the cork. It struck me that doing it this way, the chuck could be twisted very easily while the die remains stationary. The advantage I thought he may have been referring to is uniform centering among all the pieces. That's necessary because I need to make about a dozen of them.

Thanks for the clarification. I have several pieces of 1" copper about 2" long, and I had already recognized that making the die on the lathe seemed to make sense. Your clarification makes it clearer.

Regards,
Terry

Sounds like you're on the right track.....keep us informed how it goes.
 
Re-reading it, you're probably right. I didn't read it quite that way. I interpreted his post as suggesting making a backing plate out of wood or some such product, mounting the cork on the backing plate and then using the tail stock to move the die into the cork - all NOT under power, of course.

I NEVER meant to say it couldn't be done your way.... try it maybe you invent the revolutionary "tjb" method of gasket production.
In fact, I cannot think of a better way to guarantee ID and OD alignment, unless they were one piece.

Please do let us all know what works for you!
-brino
 
  • Like
Reactions: tjb
I NEVER meant to say it couldn't be done your way....
Yeah, I caught that. Actually, jcp's post combined with your clarification provide what seems to me to be a good strategy:
1. Make the die on the lathe which undoubtedly will produce a cleaner edge than I could accomplish with my less-than-expert ability with a file. (This step would never have hit my radar screen without your clarification. Thanks.)
2. Fabricate some form of holder for the die to mount it in the tail stock.
3. Mount the cork blank in the 3-jaw chuck (I have a mental picture of how to make the backing plate for it, but I suspect I'll modify it somewhat as I'm building it.)
4. With lathe in neutral and not under power, feed the die into the cork, twisting as necessary with the chuck.

Still have another project to finish first. To be continued...

Regards,
Terry
 
It may sound a little crazy but I have used Brass Tubing from a hobby shop for this sort of job.

Cut it to about a 3-4" lenght.
Use a RatTail File to sharpen the edge on one end.
Insert a press fit dowel rod in the other end for the 1" you will need to adapt/turn down the dowel but then chuck it up in a drill press and it makes a nice clean hole.
The only down side is you will need to re-sharpen the cutting end frequently as brass tubing won't hold an edge long.

I've done this many times when I've had a Paper Manuals that weren't 3 - hole punched for a binder.
 
Okay, a little slow on completing this project. It got interrupted by surgery to fuse C3 and C4 discs in my neck. Other than that, there's really not much of an excuse.

I finally finished the project, which was to make a set of coasters to match a set of hot plates made a year or so ago. After reviewing all the helpful information, I came to the conclusion I may well have been over-thinking the project. Here's a pictorial of how I approached it.

1. I had a piece of scrap 1/4" aluminum that I turned down to an 1/8" smaller diameter than the coasters. It had a hole milled in the center that was too big, so I plugged it by pressing a piece of scrap brass into it and turning it to the proper inside diameter (3/4"):
IMG_0001.jpg

2. I clamped this to a piece of scrap plywood and used it as a template to cut out the gasket material. Some of the gasket material was cork; other was automotive. Generally, I was experimenting on which I liked better and which will hold up better under use:
IMG_0002.jpg

3. I made a punch from a piece of 3/4" aluminum tubing by turning a sharp taper to the INSIDE resulting in the outside edge being clean. This piece fit very snugly into the brass hole on my template:
IMG_0003.jpg

4. Without moving the template off of the gasket/cork from step 2, I positioned the punch in the template and gave it a sharp whack with a hammer. The result was a set of perfectly shaped holes and very clean punch-out's that I have saved for some future who-knows-what project. I was anticipating I'd need to periodically sharpen the punch, but it held up for the entire project - twelve pieces in all.
IMG_0004.jpg

5. I positioned the shaped gasket/cork onto the back of the aluminum coasters I had previously made (not covered in this thread). Sandwiching the coaster and gasket together, I clamped them firmly and glued them on with black RTV.
IMG_0005.jpg IMG_0006.jpg

6. The result was a set of coasters that very nicely match my wife's hot plates. (I was looking pretty good when she saw them!) Here are top and bottom views of both - one of the coasters has a cork back; the other has an automotive gasket material back:
IMG_0014.jpg IMG_0018.jpg

P.S.: I made stands for both the hot plates and the coasters. Didn't think to take a picture of the stands by themselves, but you get the idea. That's the reason for the holes.


Thanks to all for the typically sage advice from our seasoned veterans on this project. It actually was less complicated than I imagined it was going to be.

Regards,
Terry
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0007.jpg
    IMG_0007.jpg
    716.5 KB · Views: 8
  • IMG_0015.jpg
    IMG_0015.jpg
    402.9 KB · Views: 8
  • IMG_0016.jpg
    IMG_0016.jpg
    402.3 KB · Views: 8
  • IMG_0017.jpg
    IMG_0017.jpg
    370.3 KB · Views: 13
kind of late to this, but cork bores and one of of those "whatits" tools the sharpener for cork bores..
 

Attachments

  • IMGP0001.JPG
    IMGP0001.JPG
    2.1 MB · Views: 13
Back
Top