"robo hippy" wrote in message
oups.com...
For the mortice on the bottom, I mark
with calipers (which are super glued in place) a circle that is the
same size as my chuck jaws. I use a dovetail scraper to cut a
mortice.

If you have one of those two-fanged thin parting tools, you can cut pretty
well into the bottom. I even angle mine in anticipation of the final tail.
Nice for those fuzzy woods like aspen or willow that don't respond well to
the pointed gouge smoothing and undercutting. The fangs do a reasonable
cut.

Nice thing about dovetails, unless you go dumb and leave fuzz sticking out
or sawdust packed in, they'll get a piece as true as your chuck. Trick is
to remember that, and if it doesn't mount perfectly, loosen and find out
what's in the way. Even I sometimes just tighten instead of doing it
properly.