My Homemade Metal Lathe Project

"Dave Gingery recommends building the pattern from 1/4" plywood. All of the 1/4" plywood I've seen were about as warped and bent as an archer's bow. So to get a straight pattern I took some wood wall paneling material, sanded the smooth surface to rough it up then smeared a generous amount of glue on them. "I set two pieces together on a steel table saw table and put a straight, weighted board on it. The glue impregnated the wood softening it and the weight caused it to dry perfectly straight. The resulting stock was just under 3/8" thick so the pattern is very robust and solid.