Just started turning less than a month ago. I've had some successes, and more failures. Actually, my failures were gaining in frequency and I was becoming a little frustrated. After voicing the problems I was having with the bowl gouge in one of my recent threads, I received a friendly email from a fellow creeker, Dean Thomas. He lives a few miles from me, and offered to come to my shop to spend some time with me working on the basics and fundamentals. Of course I took him up on it. We didn't just work with the bowl gouge, we went over spindle turning as well. After working with him for FOUR HOURS in the freezing cold garage, I feel like the light has come on! Having someone that knows their stuff show me the fundamentals (and what I was doing wrong) is much, much better than countless hours of reading online and watching videos. Dean's instruction was very clear, helpful, and appreciated more than words can express.
Thanks Dean.