back at it again! this turned out to be a bit of a learning process, as this project is more of a proof of concept than anything else. most everything went according to plan, but when it came to the base, i found that i should make it about an inch or so deeper, and glue up, and cut in 2 parts, as the 3" size is more than my spindle sander can handle. so with making it in 2 parts, i can sand to the line much easier. now to the fun! i used double sided tape to hold the holders together while i cut and sanded to shape, and it worked out pretty good. then i cut the base, and found there was a bit of drift, so using a thicker blade may take care of that. this was also when i found out about the sanding problem. i did what i could with the spindle sander, and belt/disk sander. it came out pretty much ok. then i test fitted all of the parts, and the holders were as tight as i expected. then i took it apart, hand sanded with 220 grit, glued it up, and gave it a quick spray with clear shellac. once i got it home, i put it to work holding some bottles. over all, i was quite satisfied with this project as a proof of concept, and can't wait to make the corrections to the next try.