Thanks all. I have lots of green sycamore and plan to have a lot more very shortly, but my main focus is the apple, plum and cherry wood sitting seasoning about the place, it turns nicely and there are plenty pieces, the cherry is 2 years, plum last winter and apple last pruning when a couple big branches came off the top. My neighbour also had a beech taken down recently, so I'm sure I could blag a log of that.
Sadly I can't take up an immediate offer of any value as I say I don't know what makes/models I am even looking for or how to look at them properly. I've made one bowl, supervised, that's it. I need to sort a space to put stuff, work out how to keep dust off everything else, save up money.. I don't have a day job or OH to pay for my "hobbies", they have to be justified as part of the smallholding business and supported off a miniscule income, so while I hope that this may be something I can do long term, at this point I have to work for it in a smallholder-y way not rush out and buy on credit in a fit of enthusiasm. I actually have to sell something to make cash to buy something
Topping it all, I had the JCB man on Friday asking me a lot lot more than I had saved, and had to write him a cheque as the cashpoint wouldn't give me money, a new card is en route but may not be here til Thursday, so cash isn't available immediately even if it was available..
I'm not fussed about exotic woods FW, I need way more practice before going upmarket at all, and there's a place near Cupar where imported Thai teak bowls are under a tenner for something 3x the size and far nicer than what I have managed
My plan is to focus on what I have plus local hardwoods for now, and work up to the burr pieces I love once I've a tad more skill
Very happy to find there are turners on here as I anticipate asking numpty questions for quite some time. The quality machinery makes to look out for are my first of many, still happy to have any suggestions for what a lathe equivalent of Stihl/Husqy is and whether something from Lidl could really turn a bowl without putting my eye out, given my lack of mechanical ability..
I don't even remember the grades of sandpaper I need to buy to finish this one bowl, I know the numbers go up as the grade gets finer and he said start with the rougher and go finer, which makes sense. But numbers didn't stick in my head. That's how beginner I am, sorry