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Some mugs I made to pass the time

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ohio ramrod

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I had some time in the shop due to not teaching due to the covid 19, So I made some mugs Not a single deer was harmed making the handles. The deer was already dead 006.jpg
 
Nice work !

How, pray tell, did you attach the handles ? (inquiring minds need to know)
 
I used elm, cherry, or walnut depending on what I had in the fire wood pile that would turn. As for how I attached the antler handles, I fit the antler to the mug, then drilled a small hole into the antler and threaded a short piece of a twin fast (drywall) screw into the antler.cut off the screw head with my dremel, then spotted the mug with a fostner bit and filled the spot with clear expoxy and screwed the antler into the mug and waited for the expoy to set up. I then finished the mug with laquar. I have attached handles this way for over ten years and have not had a failure yet! The mugs are all of a size that a beer can will fit into them, which is useful for rendezvous.
 
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I like them!

I bought a new lathe last year and had to turn our a couple of mugs as well. First mistake was using Osage Orange to start with. Love the mug but it was hard to turn.

Fleener
 
Nice work! Does the screw go all the way through the mug, or is the mug thick enough for the screw to go into, but not all the way through? My son-in-law has some sheds laying around so I thought I would make him a mug, thanks to your idea! I may make several. :)
 
What do you do to the bottoms to prevent cracking, and what finish do you use? I do quite a bit of turning and cracking has been a constant problem to deal with on vertical grained projects.
Dave
 
I used food grade epoxy on mine. The osage one I had to recoated the inside a couple of different times when it cracks or one opens up more. I did not use any finish.

Fleener
 
To prevent cracking the first two coats of finish are thin superglue, seals and strengthens the wood, last two coats of finish are nitro-cellouse laquar (like the old timers my spelling is origonal ). The screws do not go all of the way through the mug wall, which is why the clear expoxy is used. The screw mearly acts as a clamp for the epoxy . For the full enclosed handles only the bottom contact is screwed.
 
I like them!

I bought a new lathe last year and had to turn our a couple of mugs as well. First mistake was using Osage Orange to start with. Love the mug but it was hard to turn.

Fleener
I have turned osage orange and while it is HARD I have found dried elm to be even harder. I turned my first elm mug just to see if I could turn it. I was surprised to see how pretty the grain was so I made a few more.
 
I used food grade epoxy on mine. The osage one I had to recoated the inside a couple of different times when it cracks or one opens up more. I did not use any finish.

Fleener
I have never had a mug crack yet, though I admit I have sold a lot that I can not verify over the years. I use two coats of thin super glue to seal and strengthen the wood before applying the lacquer. Lacquer has been used for food bowls for over 100 years with no known problems as long as you let the lacquer cure out. I wait at ;east two weeks before using.
 
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