A selection of Eric's finished mugs

Each mug is made from 8 staves cut w/ 22.5 degree bevels. He uses a thin kerf ripping blade to cut the bevels. He made a jig to make it easy to make repeated cuts on his tablesaw.

Once the staves are cut and smoothed, he applies TiteBond III and holds them together with steel hose clamps.
Once the glue is dry, he will use a large forstner bit to cut the inside of the mug.

The piece is mounted on the lathe and the forstner bit cuts half way down the inside of the mug, then he turns the piece around and cuts the other half of the inside.

He cuts an octagonal base with a small internal dovetail, in a 1/8" deep recess to match the expanding jaw lathe chuck and glues it on the barrel of the mug.

Five minute epoxy is used to glue the base to the barrel.

Next he mounts the piece in his lathe with a wooden cone supporting the open end of the piece. The cone is mounted to a ball bearing center in the tailstock.

Mugs ready for hollowing

Next he will cut the outside shape before removing the cone and cutting the inside to achieve a 3/16" wall thickness.

Eric uses a turning tool with a carbide insert tip. For the outside and inside he has a carbide insert with an R2 curve.

For the dovetail on the base, he has a diamond shape carbide insert. The inside and outside gets sanded with 220 grit paper.

Finishing begins with coating epoxy that is poured into the mug and poured out. After it hardens, he sands it with 220 grit and applies a second coat.

He made a template for cutting the handle and after cutting it he will sand it with an oscillating spindle sander.

Then the handle gets attached to a simple router jig. The handle is held in the router jig with double stick tape. That way, he can use a round-over bit to give the handle a nice shape.

The handle is also glued to the barrel with five minute epoxy.

Final finishing is done with 5 coats of General Finishes Armor Seal semi-gloss. He applies the finish with a disposable paper towel.