Background: I'm at school one day, giving a lesson on turning wood chalices. We've already been through the glue-up process and the chalice is nearly done,  but then I foolishly decide to gouge out the bowl just a bit deeper, this after the stem is already turned to it's final diameter... The stem is strong enough, I tell myself....😜

That's when it happened..."CRACK"... the stem snapped in half! This chalice was a special one too...I'd spent a few extra minutes cutting a ring into the stem ....sorta one of those "how'd you do it" things...

Surprisingly, I wasn't at all bothered by the failed project. In fact, I saw it as a teaching moment to show what happens when you think you can get away with going against your better judgement. ...and the very next day I started on a new and more detailed chalice...as you can see in the photos that follow.