Grumpy,you were right,it is a diabolical piece of woodbut got there eventualy.Well the major hollowing is now complete after trials and tribulations,in the first of this batch of picsyou will see the hole is rather large,I had to give in and get the forstner bit out,as the chucking point on the opposite side kept busting.Pic 2 shows all the damage on the other side where it broke 6 or seven times,bits coming of and large cracks appearing,pic 3 just a general shot of it,pics 5 and 6 show the jigs used,the white wooden one for getting the volcano/peaks bits roughly the same size,the contour gauge to modify the backplates of the jigs to accommodate the variations in the turnings of the volcano/peaks,one of the backplates having the wedges and bolt to show how it works,now the pics,cheers,Eric.