Success story

The project is finally finished, despite the slight warp in the wood. Once the rings had been glued up, I used the inflatable round sander to get the indentations smooth, working through the grits from coarse to fine. Then I used the hook and loop pad sander to smooth the indentations and the lobes. I used the round sander to accentuate the lobes at the bottom, where there's plenty of wood to play with.

I wanted to accentuate the lobes at the top, but needed to keep a flat area for the lid. To prevent mishaps at this late stage, I completed the sanding, but left an extra large flat surface at the top. Then, I made the lid and put it into place. I traced the outside of the lid with a pencil to give me a guide line that would show me where to stop the shaping. I shaped it as before, using both the round inflatable and the hook and loop sanders. When I was satisfied with the shape, I gave it a sealer coat of shellac, then rubbed it down and gave it several coats of spray lacquer.

A lot of work, but you can't turn this one on the lathe!