Here we go again! The saw compass did not work. It held together (a bit too well, as I discovered when I tried to take it apart) but the saw blade, instead of turning to follow the circling saw, simply bent outward. Go figure.
So I drilled a hole in the compass in order to use it to draw circles in pencil. Each circle was responsible for at least three broken pencil ends, and I got plenty of exercise running to the pencil sharpener, before I got wise and stocked up. (Don't miss my new TV series, 'Woodworking for the Total Clutz!')
Naturally, my first (and only) saw blade had snapped within 8 seconds of starting the project. After a trip to the hardware store, I cut out the two 24" circles.
| The hole left by the center of the compass allowed me to draw a cross, which helped me to center the Lexan square. I bolted the two circles together, trimmed their edges, and cut the hole through both. |
| The logic behind cutting two 24" circles (instead of, say, one circle twice as thick) was that I originally intended to cut a slice out of the top circle, in which I would mount a sliding peg bar. After experiencing the heady thrill of trying to cut a straight line, I scrapped that concept. When I need a sliding peg bar, I'll go out and buy a REAL disc. The Lexan fits snugly, anyway. Still have the protective covering on that... | 
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Next I cut out a 20" circle with a 12" square hole. This will support the drawing surface and fit into the hole in the table. |
| The diagonals I had drawn to center the squares allowed me to align the big and little circles for gluing. |
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 | I glued the wood with something called 'Liquid Nails.' Tomorrow I'll see whether it sticks to wood with the same fierce tenacity with which it clings to fingers. |
| And there it is, weighted down and waiting for morning....just like Christmas, ain't it? I don't know what those glowing lights are, unless our basement is haunted by dust sprites... |  |