Well after wanting to do one of these for ages I grabbed a blank on ebay.
When it arrived it did feel light, but not having anything to compare it to thought it must be OK.
As per Woodys advice flatten off the top bit to put the faceplate on, all good so far.
Nice and slow to square off the base, bit rough looking, started to shape up the outside and it's as rough as a bears arse, sharpened gouge and really really fine cuts, still rough.
I can push my finger nails in this bloody thing it's that dry and flaky.
Anyway, soaked base in thin CA then managed to cut a deep dovetail (thought it might need it).
Mounted in chuck, not too tight but holding, nice and slow again very gently start to cut out the burr on top and lo and behold the thing rips out of the chuck across the shed !
Pick it up , look at base and sure enough the dovetail is ripped to bits.
Some pics of the offending article before it's impromptu flight.
I've had better days !
So, is it a crap blank or did I do something wrong?
When it arrived it did feel light, but not having anything to compare it to thought it must be OK.
As per Woodys advice flatten off the top bit to put the faceplate on, all good so far.
Nice and slow to square off the base, bit rough looking, started to shape up the outside and it's as rough as a bears arse, sharpened gouge and really really fine cuts, still rough.
I can push my finger nails in this bloody thing it's that dry and flaky.
Anyway, soaked base in thin CA then managed to cut a deep dovetail (thought it might need it).
Mounted in chuck, not too tight but holding, nice and slow again very gently start to cut out the burr on top and lo and behold the thing rips out of the chuck across the shed !
Pick it up , look at base and sure enough the dovetail is ripped to bits.
Some pics of the offending article before it's impromptu flight.
I've had better days !
So, is it a crap blank or did I do something wrong?