Its a great idea to reuse an old bar stool, and they look great. as to the finish i would steer clear of stain as it is likely to leech into what ever the stopper is in,

Try sanding sealer whilst turning apply with a rag then cut back with 0000 wire wool, followed by a wax stick from liberon, or mix your own with some of the beeswax.

What have you got planned for the top of the stool, look forward to seeing it in the future

Ralph

A nice variety. For contact with food or drink I would suggest Olive oil as a finish or pure beeswax. Some waxes contain additives that will taint or worse. There are some other finishes for items to be in contact with foodstuffs but not having used them cannot comment on the usability of them.

Have always fancied a set of Chess piece stoppers..... but the wine never lasts long enough ( evaporation, I call it  )

Rob

You don't have to worry to much as nothing touches the stopper it will be used on part empty bottles so unless they are laid  down nothing touches the contents. I prefer to use the Optic  corks in Synthetic rubber you can get them in black or white, I have got them from Peter Child on www.peterchild.co.uk I see they only have black at the moment I was going to see if the local firm that supplies bar equipment done them any cheaper, enjoy your wood turning.

George

The first thing I ever made - a set of skittles for the kids was made from the legs of an old bar table I "rescued" from a skip.  I think it's great making things form recycled materials , especialy when you're just starting.

It saves making expensive firewood, and Ive made/make loads of that).  When I make bottle stoppers I glue some dowel into the blank (to reduce wastage of good wood) and use the rubber stoppers like George.  Then I just finish the top in whatever I have to hand. 

Like Rob I don't have much call for stoppers though - it always seem to evporate somewhere!!

Cheers Dave

Hi  Dave

yes I've got some super sawdust and I've discovered that it's good for drying out green wood thats been reduced to nearly the object of your desire. I've also, like you, decided to use dowels for the bottle stoppers to save on wood and save some of the guess work on the size of the dowel inorder to fit the cork more effectively. Thanks everybody for the comments and good luck to you all in your endeavours