Washer does double duty

When turning bottle stoppers and other projects where the outside diameter of the wood to the mating metal part is important for a flush fit and you don’t have an existing chuck with the necessary diameter, washers make an inexpensive and reusable guide. For example, when turning the bottle stopper shown, the end that mates with the chrome stopper looks and feels best when the surfaces are perfectly flush. To accomplish this, file or grind one or two washers to the same diameter as the mating section of the chrome stopper. Slide the washers over the threaded mandrel. Then, turn and sand the stopper bottom end to same outside diameter as the washers. Not only do the washers provide an exact diameter guide, but they allow clearance to turn and sand the stopper’s bottom end without turning into the auxiliary wood faceplate.