http://www.melright.com/busker/jsart35.htm
Since I've got lots of hardwood scrap lying around, I decided I'd try to thinly cut some for use as a wooden spool. While Mr. Supplee's superior version results in a 3-ply all-wood spool, I opted for a wooden skin over a cardboard core.
For the core, I started out with an empty "Love My Carpet" canister which was about 65mm in diameter, then I cut some hardwood on my bandsaw to about 1/16" thick. Limited by the width of my scrap pieces and the maximum height of the bandsaw's mouth, I ended up with a 3-section design.
I soaked the cut pieces in hot water, then I rubber-banded them around the canister and threw it in the oven for about 30 minutes at around 200 degrees F.
Once the pieces had dried, they maintained the shape of the canister. I originally cut the wood pieces slightly oversized, and once they were bent, I sanded them down so they would fit around the cylinder without any major gaps in the seams.
I then peeled the shiny outer layer/label from the canister, so I'd have a nice porous surface for gluing.
In order to maintain it's cylindrical shape, I inserted three 2 1/2" rounds snugly inside the canister - 1 at each end and one in the middle, then I coated the tube in glue:
Once the glue was evenly spread, I put the wood pieces in place, taking care to line up the seams, then wrapped the whole assembly in rubber bands to set overnight. I intentionally left the cardboard core longer than necessary, so I'd have something to grab onto while I adjusted all the pieces and got them bound in place:
The next morning I removed the rubber bands, and sanded the cylinder to help smooth out the seams, while taking care to avoid creating any flat spots on the cylinder. I began with 100 grit, then moved on to 220, 400 and then 1000 grit.
