re: Axles

Yeah, getting them dialed in can be fiddly, but I also found a few blades from the folks who were making replacements. I should be good for the rest of my life.

For the 3/8 cutter, I have it set a hair thicker than 3/8 so I can sand the dowels down to size, even if there's some tearout, but after a few times using it, I got it skewed just a little, and got much better cuts, and told myself not to mess with that one again until it's time for a sharpening.

As for the long gaps, I get that too. That's why I usually will make a few extra of any size dowel I need for a project, wrap one end with painters tape with the size and wood written on it, and then stick it into a piece of PVC sewer pipe that was left over when they installed the sink in my shop. When I need a dowel, that's the first place I check, and often, I find something that'll work and don't have to pull out the 77.