You've taken the biggest step to turning bowls, the first. If this
experience doesn't discourage you you'll be hooked soon.

Well I decedided try my luck turning a bowl. I chose walnut. Picked
up a slab of 1x6, cut it into 6"lengths and laminated them to a
height of 5". I hear Walnut makes a beautiful turning if I don't
mess it I.

I've used some walnut grade lumber, and found that it isn't the best.
I had a piece of 8/4. Walnut can be turned to a great finish, but
when too dry i've found it to be hard to get that good finish.

A couple of concerns, the tearout seems to be an issue, some of the
tears seem to be 1/16" deep, a lot of them on the end grain, tools
seem pretty sharp however. I suppose the tearout will be remedied
with some patience and a few sheets of 80 grit. The tearout occurs
mainly on the outside of the bowl.

Your tools need to be Sharp, not just pretty sharp, and kept that way,
but more importantly a good finish comes from good technique - that
means practice and patience.

Also my old lathe has what seems like 3/16 to 1/4" of play parallel
to the bed so's when I press on my gauge to hollow out the bowl the
workpeice moves a fair bit (3/16") back toward the headstock. Well
I just wanted to bounce this off you all and see what feedback it
may generate.

You're describing a lathe that is sorely in need of repair! The
bearings either need to be tightened up or replaced. Any movement is
bad, that much sounds like one (or more) of the bearing-caps has come
loose and may be lost in the dust of the floor. Get it fixed first,
then you'll find your turnings will be getting lots better.

mike



--
Michael Vore, W3CCV M-ASA [Ka8]; WHIRL, ABC; CAW, CW, AAW
http://mike.vorefamily.net/ohmywoodness -Custom Woodworking
http://mike.vorefamily.net/thewoodenradio -The weblog