Thanks for the advice Mr. Al....I sanded the mouthpiece with 600-1200 grit, and then went over it for a long time with synthetic steel wool, but it still came out looking pretty much like it had started....I'll pull the guts out tomorrow and do some sanding on it with a different grit and see if it works better. I was like you....I hated to put those guts into that pretty piece of wood....Would love to learn how to make my own wooden guts to try. That will be a project in the near future. I'm really trying to get over the hump and start turning out some really nice stuff. Thanks for the advice and compliments, guys.