I sure hope you can help me. I'm building a garden decoration lighthouse, with working rotating lamp, three-quarter scale steps up the inside, painted in a traditional red and white pattern of alternating stripes. Oh, and it faces left. Do you know where I could find instructions on cutting the concave part of the base? I don't want to make too many passes on my table saw, because I'm trying to reduce the wear on my blades. - P.I. Inniski

Nellie Joanna Bly: For a concave base, you could find some old reference books on creating dugout canoes or (root) beer barrels and use a scorp to hollow out your curve.

Ron Jobstone: Are you sure you mean a concave base? Most lighthouses I've seen are convex. In that case, you don't need to use your table saw at all. First, buy some dimensioned lumber, then mill it down to size on your planer, create a hollow core on your lathe, then clamp this newly created jig to your band saw and use its freehand capability to cut around the curve. You'll probably go through a few band saw blades, and you might want to find an extra pair of hands or a heavy-duty clamp, but the wear and tear on your table saw will be minimal.

Skeeter Marshall: Of course, if you make a concave base, you could use it as a planter and create your stripes with red and white flowers. I might just have to add that to my summertime to-do list, after I regrade the driveway, replace all the trimwork in my house, grout the bathtub, install new flooring in my shop, build five blanket chests for family members, plant and harvest some wheat so I can grind my own flour, and sharpen all my chisels, gouges, knives, scissors, manicure sets, and so on with a whetstone.