Thank you for all your good feedback and help. I was happy to find out a local group was meeting this last weekend and that I didnt have to wait another month to go to my first meeting. A guy there is helping me learn how to sharpen and he showed me how to balance my grinder, which was off balance causing alot of the trouble I was having. I an super happy to learn that the turning group wants to help me get going on safe footing, and that they are so generous. I'm going back tomorrow to learn some basic turning.