To get back into the groove, I decided I would at least finish the thing to the point where I could smoke it while I got out a new block for a fresh start in 2006 to work on #9. Last night I fired up #8. I didn't spend the same amount of time on finish work as I had in the past, especially since I was kinda upset about the stem fit. In order to get it looking somewhat correct I ended up having to sand the face of the shank by hand (typically a no-no since the forstner bit, if used correctly, should provide a nice flat surface that you just can't get by hand).
Well, here is #8. It's okay, but the stem fit is bad and the block was pretty much devoid of any interesting grain. One of these days I'm actually going to graduate and move to something other than the $6 ebauchons I got to start this hobby with. Just not very interesting wood. Maybe I'll wait until I get this mortise drilling/tenon turning part down a little better, though...
