Hi, David.
Sorry I don't know your answer. Suggest you post in the wood turning section. This is a popular lathe and I'm sure there are some users around. Good luck.
Mike

Good on you! I love to see these skills being passed on. In the end, it's the only way to really keep them alive.

As to the stones, either one will work, but I find the solid-surface stones are just easier to use--not so likely to get a corner of a blade caught in one of those dimples.

I initially though they were 3-d, then figued that maybe it was the shadowing.

I have to think it is, as long as that second day isn't in the far distant future. Besides, if you have to do it that way...then that's the way it has to be.

I think it's been more than 5 years, hasn't it? Maybe 7 or 8? What's the saying? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Can you strip the finish off the inside to help everything equialize. I'm assuming the boards are solid wood and not plywood.
Jim

Lots of them on Lumberjocks.com

im thinking contacting them would give you the best answer.http://www.racedeck.com/contact-us.html

You're going to get lots of opinions, but let me make a couple of suggestions.

First off---if you're using cherry plywood and solid wood---you need to make sample pieces of BOTH as I've found (too late in many cases) that plywood may not look at all like solid after you apply a finish. In general, the ply will absorb more finish so if you have any idea of tinting or dying the piece, you'll need to test both and likely sand the ply a grit or two finer than the solid wood to reduce absorption.

Since stain is very tricky on cherry, if you want a color change, I'd do it with shellac in one of the popular shellac tints.

Or, let mother nature color your wood by simply leaving the finished project out in the sun a couple days and then just finish with poly' or shellac.

I have no idea what an Ohio #25 plane looks like (a pic of yours might help ), but the only tote patterns I'm aware of are the ones from Lee Valley for Stanley planes.

www.leevalley.com/en/html/16j4010l.pdf
www.leevalley.com/en/html/16j4010k.pdf

Possibly you could adapt one of them to work with your plane. I've used them for the intended purpose and ended up with a comfortable handle.

Phil