I thought I would post this as encouragement to my fellow newbie turners. I have been looking at the same piece of partially turned wood for the last two weeks. I have been perplexed by the tear out of one side of the end grain as well as the incredible length of time this darn thing took to lose it's moisture. I was also baffled (only because I hadn't seen it before) by the lack of "clean" cuts I could get when turning it. I decided to let it sit and I would stare at it, almost thinking I could talk it into submission, and tonight, I decided it was he or I. Well, again, I am a newbie but I want to say, I won. I sharpened my tools, took great care as to how I approached each turn, considered the speed of the lathe, and this is the end result. Now, before you professionals point out the flaws (which there are many), my point is that for all of us newbies, sometimes we need to step away, grab another piece of wood, and let the tough piece of wood simmer a bit. I think I have read on here that the wood would reveal itself in the end.
