Making Mugs

[Doug Hepler]

Mugs-2.jpgI got curious about making drinking mugs. I have not seen much in this forum about making them, so I thought that I would post a short note. This is definitely a "work in progress" as I figure out what to do next. The image shows my work so far, in chronological order from left to right. Each of them is made from a 12-segment staved blank. The bottoms are closed with a round solid oak tenon that fits into a 3/4" deep mortise cut into the cylinder. The tenon shoulder makes the seal.

The first one holds about a quart, and is sealed and finished with West System epoxy. This is not guaranteed food safe but I suppose it is, after it cures and the hardener is washed away. I have since bought some MaxClr epoxy, which is claimed to be food safe. I was interested to see that epoxy makes a great finish. One coat fills pores and gives all the "build" I need. It can be sanded and polished as well as other finishes. I went for a somewhat rustic look on this one and just smoothed the surfaces somewhat.

The others have a stainless steel liner and hold a pint. The interesting thing about designing these is that the inside diameter is critical, in order to minimize the amount of wood that has to be removed from the inside for the liner to fit tightly. I bore out the top 3" with a 2-7/8" Forstner bit and then finish hollowing with bowl gouges and scrapers. With 3/4" thick stock the OD should be 4 1/4". The second one is solid oak made from 3/4" staves and was very straightforward.

The third one is an example of the philosophy that every error is a design opportunity. I intended to make the staves out of laminated stock but the process of making the layers got a little out of hand. The layers needed to be 1/8" thick but I chickened out and they were thicker than that. Then, to get the desired ID I had to make a much larger vessel. To make it into a drinking mug I could either turn away all of those lovely laminations or decide that I really wanted it to be a vase. So it is a vase.

I actually made 1/8" thick (more or less) laminations for the fourth one, but I could not make them uniform. The laminations were alternating walnut burl and maple. The idea was to get a regular pattern of maple dots on a walnut burl background and vise versa but because the laminations were not uniformly thick I got the random pattern that you see. It still looks OK to me. I'll either have to buy 1/8" thick stock or improve my method of making the laminations. I finished it with a coat of BLO, two coats of dewaxed blond shellac and two coats of Polycryic, then rubbed with rottenstone. It is shiny and silky to the touch.

I turn the profile and then flatten (actually mortise) two places on the outer wall to receive the handle. So far, epoxy has held the handles well, but I may start doweling them if I can get the quality of vessel that would deserve the extra work.

The liners are available from Rockler and the instructions that come with them are excellent for getting started.

Comments are welcome. How can I improve my work?

Doug

[Brian Kent]

I think the mug bodies are top notch. I am interested in those handles and like your idea of epoxying into a mortise. I wonder how the handles could match the quality of the curve and finish of the main part. I don't have an answer. Maybe round-over router treatment before glueing on?


Since I have not answered my own question I used straight handles tied on with twisted rope. It works, but I am still not satisfied.

[Doug Hepler]

Hi, Brian

I fair the handles and break their edges with a drum sander, so that they feel comfortable to the touch. You raise a good point. Their shape is not up to the standard of the mug body. I think a concave spokeshave and hollow plane might be useful to improve their appearance.

After I wrote that I was considering dowels to attach the handles. I thought that a plug cutter applied to the ends of the handles would be stronger and easier to cut. That would eliminate squaring the mortise cut in the wall and make a neater look.

Doug

[Brian Kent]

That is a very good idea on the plug cutter. On the spokeshave I wonder if anybody still sells the little rosewood contour planes that Lee Valley used to sell.

My kids spend a lot of time at Renaissance Faire and I have never seen an excellent handle on a mug. Quite a challenge.

[John K Jordan]

I got curious about making drinking mugs.

I love making mugs. Yours look great.

To add another idea for your mug-making endeavors, did you ever hear of profile turnings? I turned some profile mugs for my son and daughter-in-law that were fun to make. Take a profile photo, trace, resize as needed, print, and cut out a negative template. Turn.:

profile_PC134124es.jpg profile_comp.jpg


profile_PC244147es.jpg

Next time I do these I might try making them from ebony or blackwood or dark walnut, non-glossy finish.

JKJ

[Doug Hepler]

John,

That's interesting! And the lid is a hat. Pretty clever

Doug

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

In parts of Germany, birch, about 7 inches in diameter is hollowed out into a beer mug. The top edge is clean wood but the bottom half of the exterior still has the bark. I often wondered if they are turned or milled on some giant drill press. I'll post a link to a picture when I get to my laptop.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

In parts of Germany, birch, about 7 inches in diameter is hollowed out into a beer mug. The top edge is clean wood but the bottom half of the exterior still has the bark. I often wondered if they are turned or milled on some giant drill press. I'll post a link to a picture when I get to my laptop.

Here is a link to the mugs, called bierkrug. http://www.boellerkaiser.de/shop/ind...rodukte&cat=34

apparently they are turned, (gedrechselt) The largest must be massive if one can hold a liter.

[Brodie Brickey]

Here's a link for Malcolm Tibbets' article on laminations for mugs from AAW's Magazine.

http://www.tahoeturner.com/instructi.../coffeemug.pdf

tibbetts_finished-mug.jpg

You can get some crazy ideas from his site: http://www.tahoeturner.com/