writes:
The typical way we make large turning blanks is to glue four pieces
of thick stock into long square tubing using 45d miters. So it's
hollow in the middle. I don't know, he was pretty dismissive.

Just FYI, this link will generate a PDF for you that illustrates what
he was talking about:

http://www.delorie.com/wood/segturn....pages =single

In this case, you'd turn away the outside, leaving a square hole down
the middle. You'd still need to do the paper bag glue trick, but
you'd need four 6" x 6/4 stock instead of four 3.25 square stock.

Here's one with eight staves, needing eight 2.5" by 4/4 stock
(i.e. standard 1x3s):

http://www.delorie.com/wood/segturn....pages =single