Here it is- the second pice of wood turned on my lathe. Remember, I'm just learning the basic use of the wood turning tools, how they react with the wood, various lathe speeds, types of wood, etc.
This started as a piece of red oak hardwood flooring I have left over (I installed our own hardwood floor!). It's roughly 3/4" thick, so I ripped it 3/4" square using my table saw. Again, it's a square piece, so just by drawing an "X" on each end (corner to corner), I easily marked the centers. Mounted between centers on the lathe and roughed it to a cylinder with a roughing gouge, then practiced various size beads and cuts with a spindle gouge and a skew chisel.
I've found it helps to read about different tools (there are many), their uses and designs, then practice on scrap wood to get the feel of each. There will be mistakes, but follow the general safety precautions and you'll learn quickly from those mistakes.
Anyway, this is a real simple turning which was gratifying to make, as a beginner turner. Once carved, I sanded with several grades of sandpaper, then applied tung oil and finished with beeswax.
The lesson here is start slowly, with a "spindle" turned piece (these are easier), follow safety precautions, and have fun. As with most things worthwhile, the joy in this hobby is in the learning.
