Lathe

[mike4244]

Not sure if this belongs here or in the Turning section, but here goes.  I am a hobbyist with a basement full of powertools that I use every chance I get.  Have been thinking about getting a lathe and have never owned or operated one before.  I guess I should start with a small and inexpensive one, but on the other hand there is something to be said for jumping in with a larger one on the assumption that I will get good with it and continue to use.  I have seen from some other posts that as a beginner one needs a lot more than the lathe - chucks, gouges, other tools, safety equipment, and I am comfortable with that.  As far as the machine itself though, I am not sure where to start.  Small, medium, large, smaller and graduate to an table extension?  As usual, any and all advice appreciated!  FPT.

I would buy a larger lathe, you can do spindle work on it or bowls. You do not need a chuck or fancy tools. I have several expensive Henry Taylor turning tools but prefer a much cheaper " Benjamin's Best". Penn State sells them . Most of your turning tools should be L&S  ( Long & Strong). This designates long handles and longer steel.
Get a book on turning. Learn to sharpen the gouges and skews. For now only buy a basic set of tools, form tools, fancy skews etc are a waste of money.
Once you are fairly competent with the roughing gouge try the skew chisels on scrap. I can almost guarantee you will dig in and break the or screw up your test pieces at first.
The skew is a tool that some turners avoid , practice using the skew on scrap like roughing a square to round. Eventually you will get pretty good at it. 
One thing I discovered many years ago , if you have a 6" grinder with a white or pink wheel you can grind a gouge with a single facet with the method below.
Turn the grinder on, let it come up to full speed. Turn it off and commence grinding the gouge til the wheel stops. Check the grind, if it needs more repeat. 
I am not sure why this works, I came upon this by accident when I was a boy. My neighbor taught me to turn. I was in his shop carefully trying to grind a 3/8" gouge when the electric went off. I kept grinding til the wheel stopped. When I checked the grind it was perfect. Next day the electric was back on and I tried grinding every lathe tool in the shop . Every tool turned out perfect with a single facet. Some needed 3 or more grinds to get a single facet because the previous grinds were poor.
My neighbor was thrilled, I eventually sharpened every tool in his shop.
mike

[fptahoe]

Wow!  This is all terrific advice!  I learned 1) to go a little bigger if possible based on space and money, 2) don't buy a boatload of tools and/or chucks unless absolutely essential, 3) go somewhere to learn from someone else as opposed to self-taught, and 4) be patient while on the lookout for quality used equipment.  Did I miss anything??  I can't thank you all enough for this advice!  Between my schedule and the luck of the draw for used equipment, it may take me awhile, but I will circle if/when I find something.  Thank you again...FPT