19 minutes ago, Gerald said:

I would and do some use it for the finish cut and for dry boxes.

Actually, I do this too. I was thinking more from the perspective of a new turner. With the proper support and a light touch they work fine.

 

As I was writing this, I realized nothing had been mentioned about carbide tools. One of our sponsors- Easy Wood Tools- has super turning tools that are really easy to use my the beginner for all aspects of turning.

Go green and go local.  There will be trees being taken down all around you by everyone from homeowners to tree services.  Just go and ask for a hunk of a log.  Pay $10.00 toss it in your trunk and get it on the lathe right away. 

 

Take the log and split it down the Pith line.  Now you have two.   Always  remove the pith as it dries at a wildly dfferent rate than the rest of the wood and will cause serious cracking and splitting

 

Chuck it up and Turn it thin almost all the way.  Leave maybe a half inch on the diameter or less larger than  you plan for the  finished.  Finished wants to be as thin as you can make it.   Turning it to near final leaving some stock and storing it prevents splitting and  cracking while drying.

Put that "blank" in a  paper bag  in a cardboard box and stash it for a few months.  When it's properly dried  you can finish turn it.

 

Turning dry wood is a very dusty thing.  It's the principle reason I got a Dust Collector.  I wanted to get into segmented turning  and that's all dry wood.

 

Oh and COVER YOUR SKULL & FACE when starting a blank.   Lathes are a lesson in stored energy and when the wood comes apart ( yah it does  sometimes) the energy is enormous as it flies off the lathe. It can cripple and kill.  So get a good helmet with  ballistic face protection 

Turning speed?

So glad you asked:

Turning speed formula

According to the late & great Dale Nish …(May he RIP)... his upper limit safe turning speed rule of thumb, …. defined as the maximum safe turning speed RPM, is equal to 9000, divided by the bowl's diameter. (The 9000 number is not RPM, but a derived safety constant number that is generally agreed upon by many turners.)

 

So if your hunk is 15" diameter you divide 9000/15 = 650 RPM  maximum

Go faster than that with a rough  blank and   it  may not end well  &&&&& I'd go slower till I had it true