Take some 80 paper a backing a stick or file and see what you get when you sand it down to about 220.
Also try holding a pencil on the tool rest so it just touches the piece, turn it on and see if the pencil mark goes all the way around.
Tim
I sanded it yesterday and got it looking fairly acceptable... I may super glue it and see how it holds. For now I have set it aside.
I have some cherry and some spalted maple I could use to turn another base plug. But my lathe is in such bad shape that I may just hold off and wait until I buy a new one.
I put a dial indicator on the spindle and the TIR was about .001 Which is OK considering that was the naked spindle turning by hand... Put a chuck on it and things get wobbly quick. That is partly the fault of the cheap crummy chuck, but putting a load on the spindle bearings makes it worse.
I'm just going to have to fork over some money for decent equipment.
Mike