We are starting with square (technically rectangle) wood. That’s too harsh for this project.
How do you get a square wood to be round? 1st step is you stop at Michael’s Crafts and pick up a $1.99 compass. BTW, I always feel GHEY when I walk into that store for some reason. Maybe it’s the flowery smell or all the damn fake flowers they have.

Let’s get that nice piece of Poplar cut in half. One half for the top, one for the bottom of our Susan.

Next step, let’s measure for the center. FRICK! This wood panel is only 11 5/16″ wide. NOT 12″ as the label says. No wonder the 12″ bearing was too large. Oh well. These things happen for a reason. This will turn out better!

This is actually common when dealing with lumber. Did you know a 2×4 is really 1.5″ x 3.5?

Now that we have the center it’s time to introduce one of my favorite tools. A hand drill. Perfect for making a small indention for holding the point of the compass.

Just like 2nd grade art class. This compass has a nice locking feature on it. This will ensure both circles will be exactly the same. Not bad for for $1.99

Two perfect circles marked out ready to cut.

Break out the jig saw for the rough cutting of the circle. Yes that saw is older than I am. You can tell from the retro green. But wait. This is going MUCH slower than it should be. This wood is soft, it should not be this difficult to cut. That’s why, this blade is for cutting metal. Look around.. No other blades. I guess that means a stop at Home Depot on the way to work tomorrow morning. And the end of building for tonight…