snip

thanks for any and all advice.

Ya just gotta love that any and all part... :-) Kinda like the part of
my job description that says "and other duties as assigned"...

Ah the faithful and the flighty you get em all on here. One of my
favorites is the on going battle of Top post/bottom post... Just a bit
more entertaining than the Church of "I hate Crapsman"....

But enough of that... I'm a lathe dabbler myself and I've learned thru
trial and error and input from here and other sources. Any time you
pick up a new tool it does help to seek advice from somebody who's done
it. The posts above cover anything I could share from my limited book
o knowledge.

One thing I'll rehash is the face shield (and you may already have one
and use it faithfully) but we can never cover safety enough. That and
loose shirts or hair. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt one winter day
with the cuffs open and loose while working on the lathe. Let's just
say it was almost an educational experience.

Have fun, try different stuff, and don't be afraid to ask for help on
the rec... You just have to ignore the crankier ones occasionally...
;-)