How to Make a 400 BC Greek Oenochoe Style Wine Pourer

The purpose of the demonstration is to

show how to make a hollow form wine

pourer in the style of ancient Greek pottery.

• Live demonstration on the lathe to cut

flutes

• Slides with discussion and questions to

complete the vessel

Sit back and enjoy seeing another way to

make beautiful, artistic turnings without

having to be a professional.

Dick Webber

Ends turned to fit

in chuck.

The bowl is shaped first so that flutes can be cut. Important to cut flutes before

hollowing bowl so that thickness can be measured between bottom of flutes and

inside wall. Remove only enough of the stem area to cut the flutes.

Ends turned to fit

in chuck.

Base Bowl Waist Top RimStem Neck

Begin with a limb trimmed from a healthy tree

Twenty-four flutes were cut using

the Flute Master tool.

Flutes cut with 3/8 inch core box

bit, using the Master Carver drill.

Other drills that can be used with

the Flute Master are Foredom,

Wecheer, and certain pneumatic

die grinders.

Now ready to turn the neck and

drill 7/8 inch hole from the top.

The neck has been turned to shape.

Drill a 7/8 inch hole from the top down into the top of the bowl. The diameter

of the hole is your choice. I use this size drill to determine the small inside

diameter of the neck.

The flutes have been cut, the neck has been turned and the hole has been

bored from the top down into the top of the bowl.

I used a 2 inch Forstner bit to drill to the depth of the bowl, which is fast and means

less hollowing.

Cut a female joint at the top of the bowl to receive a matching male joint to be cut in

the top.

Finish is applied to the inside of the vessel to be water and alcohol resistant and

food safe. Several coats of pure tung oil will work.

Part the top from the bottom at

the waist, using a narrow parting

tool. I used a 1/16 inch parting

tool.

Hollow the bowl. It was important

to cut the flutes before hollowing

in order to judge the thickness

from the inside of the flutes.

The bowl is hollowed, sanded and a female

joint cut at the top of the bowl to join the

top with a male joint.

When hollowing be sure to measure the

thickness from the inside of the flutes to

avoid cutting into flutes.

For added rigidity while hollowing I used

my homemade steady rest.

At this stage you can begin building up the finish inside the bowl.

There are many choices, and I use pure tung oil. Apply enough coats to make safe

to use. The goal is not to leave liquids in the bowl for lengthy periods, but just for

special uses (i.e., a communion service).

Base and top have been hollowed, with

male and female joint to glue together.

Four coats of pure tung oil have been

applied to the interior of both top and bowl.

Each application of tung oil must dry

overnight, as it does not include dryers.

The two pieces will be glued together using

either Titebond III (water resistant) glue or

CA cement.

Be careful to match the grain as it was before separating when joining the top to

the bottom.

Glue together, held in headstock chuck, and use tailstock to bring pressure for

gluing.

Place the bottom in the headstock chuck to hollow the top.

Hollowing the top is a delicate

operation, as any vibration or

catch can blow the piece.

(I know from sad experience).

Use a steady rest and make

careful, small cuts, especially

at the outer edge of the spout.

In the photo, the top and bowl

have been joined and the top

hollowed to form the spout.

The top of the spout should be tapered out to the outermost rim. A thin edge tricks

the eye to think the spout is thinner than it actually is.

How thin the top can be is determined by the stability of the wood and the skill of

the turner. Be careful, you are cutting end grain.

The top and bottom have been cemented together, the profile of the neck cut and

the top hollowed. The next step is to form the base and stem.

While cutting the base and stem I bring up the tailstock with the tailstock live

center inserted into the hole of the top for added stability (the live center must be

larger than the hole). You may want to place a steady rest at the waist.

The form of the base and stem are your choice. Ancient Greek pottery had

many forms for bases.

The base and stem have been turned. I have the habit of putting finish on each

segment of the piece as it is completed. By the time the last segment is finished

most of the parts have several coats of finish. The exterior finish is “tung oil finish.”

400 to 600 grit sandpaper is used between each coat. The interior is pure tung oil.

This piece of Walnut had several knots. I was able to layout the piece on the limb to

turn out some of the knots, but some had to be dealt with. Hurrah for CA glue.

Matt Furjanic (www.inlaybanding.com) made the custom banding I wanted for this

wine pourer.

The inlay is bent over a 2 inch cast iron pipe, heated with a propane torch. This

particular Holly and Ebony inlay bends better with heat than with water.

Use a parting tool to cut a groove the width and thickness of the inlay. After the inlay

is cut to length, Titebond III was used to glue. I wrapped a cord tightly around the

inlay with many wraps to secure while drying.

When the glue is dry sandpaper is used to finish. A cutting tool was not used, as it

can pull out pieces of the inlay.

Add additional coats of finish, then hand-rub the final coat with paraffin oil and rotten

stone for a satin appearance.

To cut the profile of the top place masking tape to cover the opening. Measure and

mark the cut line to determine the profile.

Use a coping saw to carefully cut along the lines,

keeping the coping saw as nearly horizontal as

possible.

When the cuts are complete use rat-tail rasps or

other files to smooth the cut. Round from top down

into the neck so the profile is a smooth line from

inside up to top-outside. You may want to use an

electric carver to help obtain a smooth outline.

Sand with progressively finer paper, finishing with

400 or 600 grit. Apply finish.

At left is the result of coping the top to shape the

spout, and rasping and sanding the edges to a

smooth slope into the inside of the top.

At right is the finished wine

pourer before attaching the

handle.

To make the snake handle, cut three pieces (or one longer

piece) 3/16 inch thick by 2 1/2 inch wide and 8 inches long

Draw a pattern to fit the wine pourer. One of the three

pieces will be cut in short lengths to be glued cross-wise

between the other two to provide strength at the sharp curve

at the top.

Bandsaw or scroll saw the laminated piece following the

pattern. Shaping can be done using woodcarving gouges,

rasps or other tools you prefer. Sand and apply finish.

Fit the handle to the wine pourer with care. The “mouth” of the snake

grasps the edge of the back of the wine pourer at the top. Notch this

for a tight fit. When fit, the lower part of the handle must touch the

waist of the wine pourer. Notch the handle at the point it touches the

waist.

For a good glue joint remove the finish at the two points where the

handle is glued to the wine pourer. I use CA glue for a strong bond.

Cut to rough

shape ready

for rounding.

The bottom of the handle attaches to the waist of the wine

pourer.

A notch at the lower end of the handle is cut to match that

profile.

When cutting the mouth be sure it causes a good fit for the

lower part of the handle to secure to the waist of the wine

pourer.

Use a square to be sure the handle is vertical, centered at the

back of the wine pourer.

Sandpaper from 100 down to 400/600 grit and apply enough

coats of finish to produce a furniture-like appearance.

If inserting taxidermy eyes, use a drill to cut a small dimple sized to hold the

eyes, and CA glue the eyes in place. 5 mm snake eyes fit the size of the handle.

The shape of the handle is a distinguishing feature of 400-600 BC Greek

oenochoe pottery, which this imitates.

You Can Do It !

Take your time.

Your work may wind up in a museum.

How to Calculate Number of Flutes: If using a 3/8 inch router bit and allowing

1/8 inch between flutes, this equals 1/2 inch per flute.

The widest part of the bowl is 5 1/4 inches in diameter. 3.1414 time 5 1/4 is 16.5

inches in circumference. 16.5 divided by 1/2 is 32 possible flutes.

The narrowest part to flute is 3.5 inches in diameter, or 9.42 in circumference. If

the distance between flutes at the base is 1/8 inch, then the 10.99 inch

circumference divided by .5 inch equals 22 possible flutes.

So 24 flutes should work, assuming something less than 1/8 inch between flutes at

the small end.

View of woodturning area of my shop

At the left side of the lathe are tools and equipment using wall space. Across from

the lathe is the grinder, so it can be used without taking any steps to another area.

The outboard turning stand is used as a stand to hold the motor of the Master

Carver that cuts flutes.

Neodymium magnets on the

apron of my lathe hold small

tools conveniently close.