I've been turning for just three months but have made 40+ bowls and a dozen or so rough turns. I tend to dive right in when starting a new hobby, though this time I at least started with a smaller lathe (Jet 1221vs) to make sure that I liked the hobby. But I already have plans for a bigger lathe in the near future. I first did some wood turning in high school wood shop (didn't we all?) then played around a bit with my parents' Shop Smith when I was a young married. But that was decades ago. The last few years I've had a bench top metal lathe and mill, and made a few projects, but didn't like the amount of planning required to make a project; wood turning is much more freehand. My wife is a potter, and now I can make wooden versions of what she makes -- and much larger too. We live on a few acres in SE Pennsylvania, so I have trees to chop down. I started with a nearly dead apple tree and made 20+ bowls with some really nice grain, and learned how beautiful warping green wood can be. I cut down and chopped up what I thought was an oak tree on the property, but discovered it was poplar; terrible stuff when green, but maybe after it dries a bit it will be workable. Then I found a fallen oak tree on the property and chopped that up, which is what I'm now turning. My other hobbies include bicycle riding and repair, and motorcycle riding. I've also restored old cars and motorcycles, and did bookbinding for a few years.
