You ask the hard questions Tod. I don't know what I want to make. I figured I would work with the lathe trying different things and find out what style I find more fun or interesting. I've looked at all the different things posted in the turning forum here and find an interest in each. I'm pretty much like you as far as being self taught but my first interests were with flat projects. With lumber so expensive here I figured I could save some money by turning local wood found at construction sites before they bury it. I'm looking for more input on the lathe because I'm a little intimidated by it. I don't want to get slapped in the head for doing something wrong.
fair enough royall,
if you notice the stuff "catching your eye" leans more toward platters/bowls and hollowforms then you`ll need one of the size L-XL lathes with good low speed torque.
no matter what you decide to turn you should plan on "tooling" costing 1-1/2 - 3X what you spend on the lathe......here`s the best part......after you`ve become proficient on the lathe you`ll probably find yourself reaching for only a few of the name brand pieces of metal stuck into the end of a stick
if you learn to sharpen without the aid of jigs-n-fixturers you`ll cuss for a while then it`ll become old hat.......if you use jigs-n-fixturers you`ll either want more tools so you can turn without sharpening or you`ll cuss every time you need to stop and jig up to sharpen...
stuff like pens/bottle stoppers and smaller spindle type work are the least expensive to get into...........but!.............you can turn small stuff on a big lathe and it`s impossible to turn big stuff on a small lathe.