Sawdust on the Floor

I know as a wood worker, that I love the look and feel of wood, and the more exotic the wood the better. I am fortunate to have a couple of hardwood suppliers around here that carry a good selection of domestic and exotic hardwoods. So far my experience with the exotics has been limited to some small bowl turnings. Most of my projects have been made using domestic hardwoods such as Oak, Maple, Walnut, Ash, and Cypress.

So when I find some one who has come up with a unique way to use exotics hardwoods, I have to pass it along. I came across this site while doing research for another project, and I am not sure how the search engine added this, but here it is.

Exotic Golf Putters is a company that makes golf putters using exotic hardwoods for the putter head.

The Putter on the left is made of Zebrawood and the on the right is Lacewood.

If you have a golfer in your life this would be a great gift idea for birthdays, Christmas or just because. It’s a very interesting piece of woodworking. Take a look at Exotic Golf Putters and see for yourself.

If you have been reading along with this site, you probably already know that I am a big fan of woodworking, and I spend as much time in my woodworking shop as I can. But I do have other interests, and I was trying to think of a way to combine some of them.

Well, I think I may have found a way. One of the other passions in my life is enjoying a good glass of wine. No, I am not going to go on and on about which wine or winery is best. I will leave that for others. But I have noticed that in every winery we have visited, they are selling Wine Cork Trivets, made from that winery’s corks.

wine cork trivet

So I got to thinking, I can make that at home, and have the added enjoyment of drinking the wine first. So now every time we uncork a new bottle, the cork gets saved and when I have enough saved I make another trivet.

The process is actually very simple, I started with a base of plywood, cut to 9 ¼” square. Then from my scrap bin, I cut four pieces of trim, to act as a frame. I miter the ends and I cut a reveal on the inside of each trim piece so that the inside dimensions are a square that is 8 5/8” by 8 5/8”. With the frame made, it was simply a matter of gluing in the corks. The 8 5/8” square accommodates 50 corks, when used in a two X two pattern (see above picture or design your own!)

I found cork board glue at a craft store; it seems to work better then regular yellow glue.
I also used Spring Clamps to hold the mitered corners while the glue on them dries.

Maestro Clamp Set

These clamps hold the miter joint tight, better then any other clamp I have found.

It seems that every winery decorates their corks differently, some with a name and Logo, some brightly colored, with the name and logo. I mixed them up to add more of a decorative look to this simple project. Oh, and if you are not a wine drinker, just ask friends who are to save their corks for you, I am sure they won’t mind emptying a bottle for you. Have fun!