Turners today don't realize how fortunate they are to have the many
resources that are available today for learning. Books, videos, clubs,
websites and more. Arch, you must feel the same way because you came
from the "old school" too.

From the time that I acquired my first lathe in 1936, until 1982 I
never had any contact with other turners. There weren't any clubs, at
least in my area, turning books were all on spindle turning, and of
course no videos or websites. Tools and lathes were made for spindle
turning. If I wanted to turn bowls I had to modify existing tools or
make my own. Some of my turning methods were somewhat unorthodox by
todays standards. However, I still use some of the tools and methods of
my "dark ages" days. My first bowl gouge, acquired in 1982, changed
everything for me. Of course there was nobody to teach me how to use it
because very few people knew any more than I did. I must have
eventually figured it out. My first trip to Provo in 1985 changed a lot
for me.

One of my pet peeves is turners who offer advice, often poor advice,
when they really don't know the answers themselves.