I've been doing this quite a bit lately turning LOTS of kitchen utensils out
of Brazillian cherry, Walnut and Maple. I usually start with flat blanks
about an inch think by 2 inches wide by 12-14 inches long. I do not change
the speed of the lathe when starting to when I'm finished and it's running
at 1800-2000 RPM. Now I agree, you need to be VERY careful. There's a lot
of wind there meaning no wood. When I start the turning the roughing gouge
is barely touching the wood and I slowly chip away during the first passes.
I always start in the middle and work out and as the piece comes closer to
round I can make the cuts more aggressive but never TOO aggressive.

I probably run at about the same sort of speed for 2" maple, though I
have VS and really don't know the absolute speed, preferring to run the
lathe as fast as it can without vibration or making me feel nervous.

One reason for running the lathe fast is that the body can better dampen
out the percussive effect of the corners of the blank slamming into the
tool. That means better control of the tool, and therefore less chance
of a dig in. I start with the tool off the wood, making the first
approach with care to be sure of the depth of cut. I make a quick U-turn
at the end of the each cut and go back and forth.

Out of interest I just went and roughed down a piece of hard maple,
about 1 7/8" squarish and 11" long to a cylinder. I did this in 10
passes in about 20 seconds. If the lathe and VS settings are to
believed, it is running at about 2100 rpm.

I'm saying all that for information only, and not to start a
competition, or to encourage beginners to do something they are not
comfortable with from a safety perspective! I have been turning full
time for nearly 10 years and I am very comfortable with what I am doing
and have absolutely no concerns about the wood coming off the lathe or
the tool getting embedded in the ceiling. But I do think it is important
that beginners understand what is possible.

I remember that when I first started bowl turning I was shown how to
hollow the bowl by making nice curves parallel to the outside of the
bowl. This was a great way to practise the art of making finishing cuts,
but it is terribly slow. I have since found out that I can hog out the
guts of a bowl much quicker by making straightish cuts nearly to
parallel to the axis. I do this until I am close to the finished shape,
then slow down to make the finishing cuts which refine the shape and
achieve a good surface finish.


--
Derek Andrews, woodturner

http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com
Wedding Favors ~ Artisan Crafted Gifts ~ One-of-a-Kind Woodturning