East Sussex Wood turning " Wannabe" looking for some helpful advice.

[Juddmeister]

Hi there. When I was growing up in Derbyshire, I used to climb a local oak tree near my house. Fast forward 40 years and my sons used to climb the same tree and same horizontal branch. This branch came down in a storm and the farmer gave me a section or chunk of this branch.
I would love to make some bowls from this and get into turning. I now live in East Sussex and am looking for advice on what lathe and tools would be good for this.
I have a garage and a Man Cave. Prefer second hand machine. Not good with forums so sorry if this is a daily ask. Any help would be magic. Thank you. Judd

 

[RichardG]

First welcome to the forum, I see this is your first post. The forum is a goldmine of information and spending some time learning how to use the search, and particularly the advance search will reveal answers to the questions you have. However, I know that it’s more reassuring to get answers directly so here’s a few ideas.

First make sure you have sealed end grain of the wood to stop it splitting whilst you workout what to do with it.

Hopefully covid will be much reduced by the summer so consider joining a local club or finding a friendly turner who will give you hands on advice and/or tutorial. I’m waiting patiently for this myself.

Keep an eye on the for sale forum here as well, it will give you some idea of what to expect for your money. Look at the old posts.

Budget: how much do you wish to spend? Don’t forget chisels and chucks etc. They may cost as much as the lathe if you can’t buy a package.

Bowl size: is it bowls only or some spindles as well?

I’m a beginner myself so cant offer much more specific advice.

Buy a book!

 

[Juddmeister]

Good morning Ricard. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am not a Forum-type bloke and prefer anything non-computer hence my desire to work with wood (no password!) . Covid has certainly put a squeeze on clubs though.
I will be buying books and have an amazing second hand bookshop which I hope to use when I get home. I will look to start with bowls. Once the mortgage goes, my own small wood would be perfect! Nice to dream. Happy turning. Judd

 

[Adam Pinson]

Hi there. When I was growing up in Derbyshire, I used to climb a local oak tree near my house. Fast forward 40 years and my sons used to climb the same tree and same horizontal branch. This branch came down in a storm and the farmer gave me a section or chunk of this branch.
I would love to make some bowls from this and get into turning. I now live in East Sussex and am looking for advice on what lathe and tools would be good for this.
I have a garage and a Man Cave. Prefer second hand machine. Not good with forums so sorry if this is a daily ask. Any help would be magic. Thank you. Judd

Here is a link to whom I consider to be one of the finest turning teachers online....https://youtube.com/channel/UCDwV2Djnj756vpxL51zd4Uw

 

[Adam Pinson]

https://youtube.com/channel/UCDwV2Djnj756vpxL51zd4Uw