My dad once requested for his birthday an egg holder for eating soft-boiled eggs. I selected a blank of appropriate size and sufficiently dried, though it was some cottonwood I’d gotten a year or so earlier.

I brought an egg into the shop for measurement and trial-and error as I turned it, being very careful not to break it. I turned this as a spindle with enough space to part off the final piece. I began by hollowing out the interior so that I could be sure of the fit before investing more effort, and so that I would know the final dimensions of the piece.

After completion, I applied paraffin wax with a paper towel and melted it in before parting it off, taking care to cup out the bottom slightly so it would rest flat.

One problem was that it was too light to be really effective or stable. I also didn’t care much for the shape or the finish, and the bottom didn’t get any sanding on the lathe.